Requiem
by Slave2thePen
Summary: Darien Chiba vowed revenge it was the only thing that kept him alive. But to what extent is he willing to go to achieve retribution?
1. Chapter 1

**Rewritten!**

**Sailor Moon is a product of Naoko Takeuchi.**

**Warning** : Even though this story is listed under a _Teen_ rating, it is a **Mature** creation consisting of language, adult situations, drug abuse, and controversial subjects. If you are uncomfortable with this than please refrain from reading further. You've been warned.

* * *

**Requiem **

"_Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."_

-Confucius

Chapter One

**Sympathy for the Devil**

* * *

He sat at the coffee table, the blinking light from the television being his only visual aid, and looked over numerous files scattered haphazardly on its glass surface. Faces of men, women, and children alike stared lethargically up at their one man audience as countless pages paper clipped together into a Tolevsky inspired novel of information. A cigarette burned slowly against a simple plastic ashtray; a cup of black coffee sitting parallel to the dwindling cylindrical stick. This night, with the vague data that had been gathered within the passing week, was proving to be eternal. Sleep was the forbidden fruit in the desolate garden that was Darien Chiba's prison and he would sell the soul of his reincarnated self to taste its sweet nectar of release.

Sighing, the studious young man of twenty five removed well worn in spectacles from tired eyes and tossed it on the table after plucking a single manila folder away from its identical herd. This was the most recent assignment Rubeus had given him and it was expected to be taken care of within the next week. Darien's boss had never really been one for leniency considering he had always been partial to time rather than efficiency.

The mark looked to be the equivalent of the reluctant insomniac's age with dirty blonde hair and eyes the most translucent shade of blue. He was an extremist responsible for occurrences ranging from simple rallies to demonstrations ending in riots. The main purpose of his organization was to tear down corporate structures which threatened his goal – for Japan to achieve liberation from oppressing and corrupt opportunists who use all outlets, including politicians, to achieve domination over an already subordinate culture. He wanted to destroy classes, obliterating consumerism, so its people would be able to live happily and peacefully with one another. Since Rubeus' business was at the top of the activist's list of potential targets, it was self-explanatory why the tycoon wanted to nip this nuisance in the bud. The feat was easier said than done.

This guy may have done his fair share of stupid things but his intelligence and depth perception made up for brazen actions. He never stayed in one place for long, preferred to keep himself anonymously under the radar, and only socialized with his battalion. Darien always had the option of capturing one of his tree hugging friends and torturing them to the point of experiencing an insatiable agony by the mere mention of his name. But the professional knew better, after all they were just as extreme as the perp (if not more so) and laughed at anything revolving around a threat as meager as bodily harm.

Thin elongated fingers grasped the cigarette in its clutches and maneuvered the cancerous object between parted lips. Two weeks had passed and yet not only had he accumulated the least amount of leads among the previous charges but he also lacked a checkpoint, a haven where the do-gooder was consistently spotted at. Was he losing his touch? Exhaling excess smoke, Darien smirked at the irony. Losing his touch? What touch? This wasn't what he was meant for. This was only supposed to be temporary, a means to reach sufficient financial stability to pay for school and live comfortably as a man in a life of normalcy.

At thirteen, he was desperate for work and found good fortune in Rubeus' extended hand. There he was a scrawny little punk sleeping in the back alley of Japan's most coveted noodle house with an eighth grade education and nowhere to go. The offer of a warm bed to sleep in, a hot meal, and more money than he could dream of in his incapable idle hands was any street urchin's dream. Rubeus had never said forever; it was the one circumstance which kept the teenager interested.

He put out his cigarette a little rougher than necessary. His life had never been easy. The simplest time from his twenty five years of life came in the form of his four foot five inch seven year old brother. Having a six year age difference, much to the surprise of outside spectators, didn't ruin the relationship in the least bit. The two would always be found outside reveling in the fruits of their imagination by either engaging in a game of cops and robbers or staring up at the sky inspecting unusual shapes of clouds. Darien had loved his little brother more than anything and in retrospect; it was the only reason keeping him in that forsaken house. It had been twelve years exactly last week since he had last seen him alive and well.

Tossing his piece of literature back amongst his other accomplished missions, he leaned back against the marshmallow cushions and recalled his own personal cyst or, in politically correct terms, his mother. She was a beautiful woman. Darien remembered all the sleazy men in the neighborhood, married and single alike, who would approach and do or say anything to get next to her. He also remembered how those particular men would even sink to the diabolical level of trying to befriend his brother and him for their own personal gain. But Darien was hip to their game and immediately told them where to go. If only they knew what she was really like then he bet they'd change the beat of their drum rather quickly.

A shrill ring from his pants pocket jerked his subconscious directly from his reverie of the past. Frowning, Darien reached his hand in and burrowed for his mobile before flipping open its silver face and coolly responding, "Yeah?"

Sitting up, he snatched the discarded file back up in a motion which suggested he had just struck gold. With a brand new resolve and a higher octave in an otherwise aloof voice, Darien declared, "Gather up all the info you've got and I'll see you in a half hour."

Closing the phone back up before putting it securely in the confines of his jeans, the handsome agent jumped up from the couch, vital findings in hand, and put on his jacket which previously hung rejected from the edge of the loveseat. Finally, a change of pace; his go to man, Jadeite, a private investigator based in the Tokyo suburbs, had found a lead on his evasive little pest. It couldn't have come at a better time. Darien was starting to get tired of looking at the smug face of the asshole on his file. It was time to move on and look at the smug face of some other asshole.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He stopped dead in his tracks at the curvaceous figure of his boss's wife leaning against one of the walls encompassing his doorway. Emerald Del Grassi was a stunner without a doubt. Her long hair tumbled down in luscious waves, framing her face to give it a more angular appearance as her eye color did justice to her name and practically glowed inside its large almond packaging. She was dressed in her business attire which led Darien to believe she had come directly from work and therefore from the arms of her husband. Emerald knew she was desirable and capable of wrapping any man around her little finger. That knowledge was dangerous.

"I'm on my way out."

"Where to?" Emerald flirtatiously asked while sashaying up to Darien who stood statuesque. She stopped when the space between them became much too small even to allow a single strand of hair access.

"Work."

Keeping a suggestive smile, the vixen leaned closer, closing up the barely there gap, and whispered, "You have work to do here."

She crushed her perfectly glossed lips over his and moved in until her body was practically fused with his. In retaliation, he grabbed her hip with one hand while the other snaked up to undo the buttons of her jacket. This intrusion had proven to slightly irritating. Not anything too debilitating judging by his participation but enough to make him lock his door the next time.

She pushed him back and after removing her jacket completely from her body, resumed with her highly effective fondling. Emerald moaned when Darien nibbled on her ear and massaged her exposed breasts. He lowered her onto the couch before ripping his coat off and carelessly tossing it on the ground. Sinking downward, he unzipped her pencil skirt and lowered it; his lips continuing their voyage around her stomach to her hipbones and ending at the area where her waistband had been.

"Mmm…that feels so good, baby."

Darien shifted his weight and began to envelop Emerald's smaller body with his own. Trailing kisses along her defined collarbone, cobalt eyes elevated their gaze to his lover's face but widened in disbelief once they locked on the face of a woman whose appearance brought chills down his spine. He collapsed away from the stranger and shut his eyes. It was happening again. His heart was pounding, his palms sweating profusely, and breaths coming out shallow and delayed. The fury built from deep within his stomach due to his lack of control and suddenly he was on fire. It was burning him… burned … burned … broken.

"Darien? What the hell is wrong with you?"

The man who fell away from reality returned. He opened his eyes slowly and in turn repossessed the sight of his lost mistress, much to his relief. Exhaling sharply, he ran his hand through ebony locks. Darien continued to stare, refusing to waver his eyes in fear of another astral projection.

"Darien?!"

"What?"

"Tell me what just happened."

"Nothing. I have to go," Darien mumbled while getting himself together in preparation of making his much anticipated exit. Unfortunately, Emerald wasn't the type of woman who made rejecting her easy.

"I know what's wrong," she purred. The older woman got on her knees, placing her hands under his shirt to caress the tight muscles of his abs, and sensually brushed her lips against his ear, "You want a little TLC, too."

She pulled him back against her and grinned at how easy it was to make him succumb to her advances. Emerald knew he could definitely use a release, after all she had been craving one all day. Her lips grazed his neck, pleased to be taking the reins for once in their tryst, and inched her hand towards his belt. The tease felt him shiver against her causing the lopsided smirk to evolve into an amused smile.

_She caressed his face, placing soft lips against a sweat glistened neck, and ran her hands through his soft hair. He could feel his body trying to reject the tension and ease into what his partner desired. Her hands trailed down his body and reached for the buckle of his pants. He froze in place; his mind too preoccupied to fight the tension any longer._

Emerald removed his shirt and moved her lips from his neck to his chest and down farther to the impressive cut of his hips. She flicked her tongue along to each protruding bone all the while unzipping his pants and freeing him from captivity. Her hands ran up and down his sides as her teeth playfully gripped along the band of his boxers. The adulteress always enjoyed being the one to please. Not only did it give her inner feminist a sense of utter accomplishment but the saying was right, lay a man right the first time and you can walk all over him forever.

_She whispered sweet nothings and I love you into his ear as he clenched his fists and closed his eyes. She laced her fingers along his clenched hand coaxing him to relax while removing his pants skillfully with the other hand. She lapped up the sweat which rained down on tan skin with a thirsty tongue. He closed his eyes tighter as her hand, which was responsible for stripping away his pants, fell on his underwear._

Darien was yanked on the couch while Emerald, wasting no time, straddled him and began to grind herself against his crotch with ease. Her temperature was beginning to rise and it only boiled over when she heard a small hiss escape unintentionally from parted lips. Elegant fingers re-latched themselves on the jungle of coal and enjoyed the smooth, soft texture of each strand. Leering down with hooded eyes, Emerald passionately kissed him and stripped him of his boxers.

"_Don't be afraid. Just think of this as a way of proving my love to you," she whispered. Her hot breath caused the tiny hairs on the back of his neck to erect. Gooseflesh formed on his entire body once his underwear was discarded and she climbed on top of him. Leaning down, eyes the color of a tempestuous storm, she pressed her lips back against his ear, "Remember, Darien, your mama loves you."_

He recoiled and pushed the woman just beginning to rock up a steady rhythm off of him. The devil in him ignited into existence and was unconcerned with leaving a bruised, both physically and emotionally, Emerald high and dry. He hurriedly put on his boxers, followed up by his pants, but once he got to his shirt the furious fiend roughly grabbed his arm.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"Get out of my way," Darien calmly commanded. His eyes darkened considerably when leering own at his womanly road block. He continued to burn and instinctively his hands curled up into a fist. The haunted entrepreneur would never strike a woman but with the feelings of loathing coursing through his veins, he wasn't so sure what he was capable of anymore.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with you! God, sometimes, you can't get enough of me and others you can't even look at me. Why can't you fuck me and enjoy it?"

"Because you disgust me," Darien screamed in her face. It was a little harsher and definitely an octave higher than he intended but he wanted her gone even if it meant forever. Darien was starting to get tired of dancing on eggshells, deceiving the man who helped him through his troubled youth, just to have sex with a woman he felt nothing for. It was time to move forward.

"I disgust you?" Emerald sneered as she landed a couple of punches on his bare chest. Shoving him back, she pointed a finger and continued her tirade, "Don't think you're so much better than I am because the last time I checked, you knew I was married. If anyone is disgusted, it's me of you. There's something wrong with you! You're sick in the head. You need help, you fucking fruit loop!"

He finished putting on his shirt, ignoring the hysterics, and grabbed his jacket after slipping on his shoes. Any man would fear ending it with a woman of her stature but he knew the situation too well to let it shake him. Chances are if Emerald did in fact tell Rubeus of his betrayal, she would in fact get her revenge but not at the expense of her own life. Her husband had a murderous temper and if he ever found out about their affair, he would kill them both.

He started for the door but was intercepted by the sobbing woman who contradicted a previous display of scorn. Hanging from his lithe figure, Emerald forced her mouth on his in a gesture which begged for reciprocation. The object of her desire only froze in place, lips closed, and eyes glaring down at her pathetic state. She never felt more undesirable in her life and that realization only served to peak her anger. Pulling away, Emerald reached her hand back and swung an open palm across Darien's cheek as hard as she could, "Bastard!"

He kept his gaze geared to the side it was forced to face. He wanted to tear her apart but instead settled for jumping forward and gathering her much smaller hands into a firm grip. She screamed as Darien put his hand roughly over her mouth to muffle her pleas. Dangerously close to fulfilling his desire of dismemberment, he eased his lips to her ear and hissed, "You're pathetic, Emerald. Get out and never come back. If I ever see you outside of work again, the next time Rubeus sees you will be on the side of a milk carton."

Pushing her away, he continued the task that should have been long since accomplished twenty minutes ago.

"Darien, wait! I love you!"

Before walking out and slamming the door behind him, Darien spat, "Go back home to your husband."

She let out a scream and collapsed on the ground. Sobbing, Emerald put her face in her hands and cursed the man for his impetuous decision to dump her. Nobody had ever dumped her, for she was usually the one who did the heart breaking. Was it true? Was karma finally coming back on her?

Scoffing, the dejected mistress looked back up and sneered at the door her lover had just walked out of. Nobody dumps Emerald DelGrassi and lives to revel in her misfortune.

"You'll pay for this, Darien Chiba. Mark my words."

* * *

_I bet she'll try and make me pay._

Darien smiled as he pulled out a package of cigarettes, pulling a long slender stick from its contents. She can try but she'll fail, just as fruitlessly as usual. Emerald always got what she wanted. She was a spoiled little princess whose vocabulary flourished with every word imaginable except the essential, character building "no." Darien was more than happy to have used this opportunity to have taught it to her.

He extended a finger and hit the down button on the elevator panel. This had been quite a day. He wouldn't lie. It felt liberating to have this one nagging weight off his shoulders. It was fun while it lasted but as the saying went, "Life goes on." With whatever bit of conscience Darien possessed in his neural hemispheres, it did bug him to dog the one person who had given him a chance in making his life more than sex, drugs, and violence. Granted, Rubeus had provided a life of violence (sex his own personal addition) it was still a privileged one. For a good three years, a bad taste had grown in his mouth like a fungus. It was great to finally find the remedy to alleviate it.

At the soft _bing_ of the elevator, Darien entered the confined shaft and hit the button signifying the first floor. As the door closed, he procured a lighter, blazing to life his cigarette, and leaned back against the wall. The contract killer wondered what Jadeite had found out about the target. He had been on the activist's tail for the past two weeks and all he could do was dig up trivial information on his past. It was easy to crack into files and computers for verification but at a certain point he seemed to have vanished off the face of the planet. No credit records or proof of address. If it wasn't for Rubeus' confirmation, he would have assumed the mark had already been dead.

Exhaling, Darien whispered, "You better not let me down, Jadeite."

Taking another drag, he glanced over to his side and noticed a huge poster of Japan's hottest rock group, The Three Lights, taking up the proximity of one of the four walls. They had just made it into mainstream but the noise and stir they were responsible for caused them to appear as though they had been a sensation for years. The band consisted of Yaten Saito on drums, Taiki Kochi on lead guitar, and Seiya Kou on vocals and guitar. The three musicians were young and looked to be no older than twenty four.

Yaten Saito stood confidently to the left with a grin on his face and a pair of drumsticks in his hands. He appeared to be the eldest and, by the way he conducted himself, the most mature. His wheat blonde hair was carelessly tussled as eyes the color of steel stared back at the average onlooker tauntingly as if he knew something they didn't. Taiki Kochi, a direct antithesis of the drummer, had his mouth wide open as though he had been screaming bloody murder on the set. His noodle like leg was kicked up and his arm was looped around their singer. Taiki's crimson hair matched his outrageous personality perfectly while dazzling emerald eyes stared seductively at any potential female admirers. A beautiful, and without a doubt expensive, Gibson guitar provided leverage to the energetic guitarist as it sat by his side looking pretty for the camera.

Even though Yaten and Taiki were interesting characters to analyze, twilight eyes stared studiously at the most laidback member of the band, Seiya Kou. The man was breathtaking with flawless beige skin and black hair which shone like a halo of coal under the thousand watt bulbs of the photo shoot. Black dress pants hung well on narrow hips as his torso lacked mass yet still managed to remain looking defined. He was obviously the youngest of the trio possessing a baby face, but nonetheless still managing to keep a cool which projected experience beyond his years. Seiya was the perfect package but the one trait which really kept Darien mesmerized was chocolate eyes full of danger and passion. Although to the naked eye he looked rebellious and full of life, the observer noticed something dark, chilling, and almost menacing. His frown deepened.

"Excuse me, sir, are you getting off?"

Darien distracted his attention from the photo and focused on two older women with impatient looks on their heavily made up faces standing at the metal dividing line of the elevator. They scrutinized him as though he was nothing more than data under a microscope. Sighing, he motioned for them to enter before sliding past to duo successfully.

"And another thing, you shouldn't be smoking in a public area. That's very rude for…"

The ranting was cut off by Darien hitting a random floor. Smirking and waving with a cigarette dangling from his lips, the double doors closed on his two angry looking pests. He rubbed his hands together and made his way out of the revolving doors of the complex.

The next drag he took felt like a religious experience.

* * *

"_That was an awesome concert. You did it again, man!"_

_Seiya Kou entered the room with a lopsided grin on his chiseled face. Practically everyone associated with the concert was there, including some close friends and groupies. He shook his manager's hand before being bombarded with congratulatory back slaps and hair ruffling. Keeping the proud smirk on his face, the rock star opened the cooler, pulled a beer from its frigid interior, and flopped back on the couch with groupies and two of the five roadies. _

"_How does it feel to have a flawless tour, kid?" Mr. Uchiyamada, the Lights' manager, asked after knocking back the rest of his own beer._

_Sean Uchiyamada was slight man with bleached blonde hair and penetrating black eyes. Even though he was in his thirties, the band manager was handsome with a carefree personality that left women swooning. At five foot seven inches, the Starlights, including stand-ins and roadies alike, towered over him yet couldn't get as many high quality women as he was known for gravitating. It was a wonder that kept the band and its cavalry pondering and laughing._

"_I'll tell you in another two months," Seiya responded while looping an arm along the shoulders of the sexy red head sitting beside him._

"_You're too modest, kid. If it wasn't for some of the broads you convince to come home with you, I wouldn't believe for a second you were a rock star."_

_The red head blushed while snuggling in closer to the warm and firm body of her soon to be lover. She moved her long locks away from her chest as an ulterior motive to show Seiya her goods. Twisting her pouty lips into a smirk, she noticed his dark eyes trailing up and down her body. They continued north past her shapely legs up to her thighs before making a sharp turn onto curvaceous hips. Enjoying the sights on foreign land, his eyes continued their voyage through a smooth and firm stomach but prolonged the trip once they fell upon the curve of her ivory breasts. It was all he needed to see to be convinced._

_Seiya leaned forward and whispered something into the siren's ear. She giggled and nodded her head almost instantly causing the rebel to grab onto her hand before pulling her up with him. Dark eyes shifted to the left and focused on Yaten who stared disapprovingly at his choice. His look seemed to heed to an impending danger._

"_C'mon, babe, let's go find somewhere a little more private," he declared but deceiving the severity of his comment by keeping his eyes solely on his disappointed bandmate, "Sayonara. I'll see you assholes at sound check."_

"_Yeah, yeah, I see how it is. Hoes before bros, huh?" Sean exclaimed while sizing up his goldmine's choice. _

_Shaking his hand and smiling at the wink followed up by an enthusiastic two thumbs up, Seiya was prepared to leave until Yaten grabbed his arm and stated, "We need to talk."_

"_Can't it wait until tomorrow? I'm in the process of entertaining someone."_

_Yaten, hand still gripping the younger man's arm, looked at Raggedy Ann with a sour look and darkly asked, "You don't mind entertaining yourself for a bit, do you, honey? I'm sure you're very capable."_

_She shook her head which inspired a sarcastic smile from the drummer. Opening the door, he dragged Seiya out of the room, which began to reek of beer and pot, and led him down the hall near the entrance of the stage. As he let his comrade go, Yaten stood in front of him and folded his arms across his chest. He didn't know where to begin or why he had even bothered to isolate him in the first place. It wasn't as if he would listen. Seiya never listened to anyone and that was a bigger flaw than fucking some groupie pig._

"_What do you want?"_

"_Do you ever think before you do anything, Seiya? Do you ever consider what your actions would do to yourself and the people around you? Why do you always have to be running at a thousand miles per second? You should stop for a second and relax." _

"_Why do you always have to ask me so many pointless questions?" Seiya retorted while instinctively raising his defenses. He felt like a child in a rapidly shrinking box of a world. He was tired of being constrained. He was tired of being subordinate. It was time to break free and fly away._

"_I'm asking you these things for your own good, man! Please, if you listen and let one thing I say for the rest of our friendship stick let it be this: Fuck Uchiyamada and his expectations. Don't let that stain run and eventually ruin your life. Everything he's telling you to be is a lie, okay? There are so many people who get into this profession and don't make it out alive because they lose themselves along the way. Don't sacrifice yourself for fame."_

"_How can I sacrifice myself for fame? I don't even know who I am," he shouted. Throwing his arms up in the air, he pointed up to the sky and proclaimed, "There's nothing out there for me, Yaten. Nothing! There's no God, there's no family, no nothing! I've got nothing! I'm nothing without this. Fame is who I am and if I ever stop, I'd rather be dead. No, if I stop, I am dead."_

"_Don't be stupid," Yaten contradicted with a stern expression on his normally stoic face, "Fame is ruining you. You're running yourself into a hole and you're so far deep in your own shit you don't even realize it. You've got me. You've got Taiki. And you've got Mina. How can you even go and screw that trash when you've got a girl like that waiting for you back home?"_

_Propelling himself forward, Seiya grabbed the smaller of the bickering duo by the collar and slammed him up against the nearest wall. Seething, eyes possessing within them an unspeakable darkness, he leaned forward and hissed, "Don't! Don't say a damn word or even mention her, understand?"_

_Yaten shoved the six foot madman away from him and situated himself before cruelly exclaiming, "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you sick or something? I didn't mention this before because I thought I was just overreacting when I noticed your moods shifting but with that display, I knew I was right. You need to stop touring, go home to your girl, and clear your head." _

"_I don't need to go home. I'm fine."_

"_Your depression is getting worse and you're not making things better by scoring. I won't do a tour with you so messed up. We can postpone the tour and Taiki and I can wait until you're ready to go."_

_Seiya sneered. He clenched his fist and spat, "Are you deaf? I said I was fine! I'm going to finish up this tour with or without you because if you haven't already noticed, you're a shadow that can easily be replaced."_

"_Fuck you, Seiya. Either you go and tell Uchiyamada that you're taking a break from touring or I go and take Taiki with me. You might be able to go on sans a 'shadow' but I doubt you can make it another two months with half the band missing. It's your call, kid."_

-

Seiya stared up at the ceiling and trailed the faintest crack in its ivory surface to and from the core. The moon, soft and shining, extended its silver coated embrace onto the earth lovingly as the cool gust of wind blew the transparent curtains of the hotel room back to ravage its two inhabitants. The room was pitch black except for the meager light which crept through the crack of the door.

His chocolate eyes remained unblinking as they stared at the dead air space. He wasn't quite sure why he stared at the ceiling in particular but Seiya was pretty sure it had something to do with avoiding the slip up of looking at the girl laying sound asleep beside him. It wasn't as if this was the first time he indulged himself when he was on the road, after all sleeping around on a tour was a golden rule among the elite, especially rock stars. Seiya, never one to break tradition, did this without reservation but every time the release came so did the feeling of loneliness, and loathing. Looking at the one night stand, no matter how attractive they were, was no longer and option.

Sighing, he snatched up the packet of cigarettes sitting on his nightstand, pulled out a smoke, and lit up. Touring had honestly started to become tedious, whether the city was exotic or not, but he would never submit to Yaten's demand. Seiya Kou would not respond to ultimatums and that's exactly what he had told the blonde idol during their altercation exactly two weeks ago. Obviously, that hadn't worked out according to plans since he was stuck in Shinjuku sleeping with some whore who recognized him at the local coffee shop. Yaten had gone home to his wife and baby and Taiki had retreated to Okinawa for some serious downtime leaving Seiya, who was supposed to go back to Osaka and visit his girlfriend, to fend for himself.

Mr. Uchiyamada had uncharacteristically understood stating he wanted the band healthy and in the right mind set when they began touring again. His concern didn't necessarily fall in Seiya's favor even though he tried to reassure the band that it was. The manager deducted that an insane lead singer would not only attract bad press but would also lower record sales. Plus, it didn't help his faith realizing great bands in the past had previously been destroyed by a neurotic lead singer. He instantly gave the three official leave but under the condition that they returned ready to tour again in a month.

Seiya inhaled sharply as smoke from his previous drag escaped from his nostrils. That man had truly made him a work of fiction. The great rock star Kou was a product worthy of pride and affection. On print, Seiya was a rebellious yet happy young man from a hard working middle class family who became famous to pursue a dream and give his family an easier life. What a load of crap that was.

The real Seiya was constantly rejected and eventually ended up in an orphanage where his caretakers would neglect and abuse him until he couldn't take it anymore. At fifteen, broken and alone, he ran away figuring that since he already knew first hand how cold the world could be, he would be able to survive it alone. Things had started off well enough at first considering he had stolen a sufficient amount of yen from one of the superiors to get him going, but once Seiya arrived in Shibuya he found it difficult to find a job. Nobody wanted to take the risk of accepting an underage boy especially in case the cops happened to be after him and finding an apartment was an even harder task. Soon, his money ran out and he resorted to desperate means to keep himself alive.

The truth was obviously a little too taboo and could possibly hurt sales, so Mr. Uchiyamada packed the truth away and gave birth to the black and white lie otherwise known as a normal childhood. The lie had sounded so good, he started to actually believe all those horrible memories were nightmares he had had as a child. Seiya ignored the constant feeling of deja-vu every time they threatened to spill. He even sweetened the deal by telling everyone around him, whether they were close to him or not, that whatever was in print was in fact the truth. The only person who never seemed to fully believe him was his girlfriend, Mina.

Mina Murphy, a descendant of a half-Irish, half-Japanese bloodline, was the youngest and hottest Japanese idol out there today. The lovely actress was a huge fan of the Three Starlights and the singer had met her at one of their concerts. As soon as Seiya saw her, he became instantly enamored and asked for her number. The two began dating shortly after and his attraction had turned into affection and the affection soon into love. Mina possessed all the characteristics he didn't have and never encountered in another human being. She was the first person who had cared and shown genuine concern for him. She was innocent, beautiful, and selfless. Even though he slept around with countless nameless faces, he pledged that she was the only one he has or will ever truly love.

Pulling back the covers, Seiya firmly kept his cigarette between his lips and grabbed discarded boxers. He had lost weight due to depression from idle days. Even though he still had minor shape in his upper body, the definitions in his muscles were slowly beginning to fade leaving behind the image he was expected to portray. He was supposed to be in Osaka with Mina but he couldn't bear to face her or the countless questions she was sure to ask. He just wanted to be alone and made that request clear by turning off his cell phone. Seiya Kou had disappeared off the face of the planet. At least that was what he wanted the outside world to believe.

He scratched his head and yawned rather poignantly while making his way out of the room and into the den of the suite. The room was gorgeous making it well worth the money he spent on it. The hardware floors glimmered under the soft fluorescent lights and the furniture scattered throughout was constructed of impeccably high class material. Crystal figurines adorned the bare ledges as newspapers and magazines, both past and current, remained neatly stacked by the door in a small yet tidy rack. Big picturesque windows covered the back walls and a balcony with a French door separating the room from the world remained on to the left promising a view like no other.

Even though Seiya had his own modest apartment downtown, he never showed anyone where he lived making this hotel the perfect place for a tryst. Not only was it exquisite and enough to take a woman's mind off his aversion of showing her his residence but a lot of high profile celebrities also stayed here. With the urge to keep their top clientele, it made the curators very careful who they chose to divulge information to. After all his needs were met, the VIP would pay, tip the manager very handsomely, and go home until he would U-turn and repeat the process with yet another nameless body.

He removed the cigarette from his lips and looked over the table in the center of the room. Scattered over the surface was a small box cutter, some packets, and two or three lines of thin white powder which hadn't been snorted yet. Jane Doe and he had done a couple of lines before they moved their acrobatic act into the bedroom. Ever since Seiya was a teenager, he turned to drugs to give him the push he needed to do something he didn't originally want to do. It was mandatory, almost like a routine. With every girl he brought home, he would get his gear and go to town whether the girl indulged as well or not. Right now, he wasn't really expected to do anything but Seiya really needed a hit.

Sitting on the couch, he crushed out his smoke on the table unconcerned with the aesthetic debasement. Seiya stretched, grabbed the rolled up twenty on the side, and hovered it among the left overs. This is what he was; just another statistic. He sharply snorted the powder and winced as it burned his nostrils. Quickly, he placed his fingers over his nose, clogging up his air supply, and made sure to cease a desired sneeze. Almost instantly after removing his fingers, he leaned back and reveled in the feeling of euphoria.

* * *

Serena Tsukino painted another stroke on the wall as blue pigment dripped from the brush onto the floor. She had been working on a mural for the Hinos for two weeks now and the consistency was beginning to become a little too tedious for her liking. Slightly sticking out her tongue, the blonde backed away from her work and momentarily studied the design. It was almost complete and had a Roy Liechtenstein appeal to it with vibrant colors and a story line resembling classic pulp comics. Obviously pleased, she smiled and dropped the brush back into a beat up looking water can.

She stretched and released a drawn out yawn. Raye Hino had been Serena's friend since grade school yet the two have clashed more times than anyone could count. Raye was passionate, beautiful, with a meticulous attention to detail and a broad list of goals to accomplish. Serena on the other hand was careless and impetuous with only one goal – to leave Japan and attend Julliard in America. Painting was a hobby but the piano was her life. Julliard was the one reason, besides upping the cool factor of one of the most traditional looking temples in Tokyo, that Raye and her grandfather had commissioned the young artist to paint a mural in one of its many rooms.

Scratching the back of her neck, Serena picked up her watch which kept her purse company and checked the time. Eyes, the color of the deepest, bluest ocean, widened in surprise before she tossed it back over to the chair and, at warp speed, cleaned up her supplies right along with the mess she made. She could kick herself for ignoring the time. It was already one o'clock in the morning. How could she have let that much time pass without realizing it sooner? She better live up that short fifteen minute walk home because when she got there, her parents were going to kill her. Sighing, the petite teenager continued to neatly package her things quick and efficiently.

Raye and her grandfather were already in bed. The two woke up every morning at four in order to pray before she had to go to school, so every night they would be asleep at around nine or ten. The priestess rarely bothered her friend when she worked which made it reasonable why Serena didn't see for herself how fast time was moving. After jotting a quick note and pinning in to the wall by the telephone, she grabbed her purse, watch, and messenger bag with all her supplies and quietly left the property.

It was freezing out. The weather had been fluctuating drastically lately. Serena had walked comfortably to the temple in a basic t-shirt and jeans but now was in desperate need of another layer. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a long sleeved button down dress shirt used for painting and put it on without further debate. It wasn't exactly tre-chic considering it was twice the size of her body and had paint stains the size of Russia on it but then again, who would see her? It was almost two o'clock in the morning on a Wednesday night. So unless you were in the heart of Tokyo, which she wasn't, you weren't going to run into a soul.

She continued her walk after closing and locking the gates back up. Since Andrew couldn't make it by her house yesterday, he was supposed to visit at the end of the week and this time she prayed he would keep his promise. Every time he would call, he would swear up and down to stop by but every time, without fail, she would be waiting by the door for hours to welcome a no show. He would call days later and profusely apologize for his irresponsibility saying he got wrapped up in one of his obligations. As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, Serena just stopped waiting and automatically assumed Andrew was going to flake out again. Hopefully, he would prove her cynicism wrong on Saturday and for once, keep his word.

In exactly four hours she was supposed to be up and ready for school. She couldn't wait to graduate and pack her bags for America where she would be able to choose an afternoon schedule for school. An afternoon schedule; it was enough to make her eyes and mouth water with desire. Sleep was the one thing she cherished above food and yet, ironically, was the one thing lacking in her claustrophobic schedule.

Serena yawned. With all her attention being put into Raye's mural and the handsome compensation she was promised for it, she barely had any time to practice piano. Plus, to add to insult to injury, she had a session with Diamond tomorrow. Diamond DelGrassi was a twenty eight year old Julliard graduate who returned to Tokyo for two reasons. One, to help shape the future of aspiring musicians so they also could follow down the same golden brick road to Julliard, and two, to assist his older brother, Rubeus, with the family business. Serena had been studying with Diamond for five years and got along famously with him. She saw the pianist as a friend before a teacher.

Blinding walking down the barely illuminated street, she was shouldered which in turn caused her bag to fall and paint supplies to scatter all over the pavement. Letting out a small yell of frustration, Serena looked over to her left where, much to her surprise, her much taller assailant continued to walk ignorantly by. Seeing red at his lack of concern, she shouted, "Watch where the hell you're going, asshole!"

His broad back was still turned towards her meager figure and the red soon became so vibrant, she could barely see. Ignoring the mess of assorted paints, the firecracker took a step forward and screamed, "Weren't you taught any manners, jerk! Hey, I'm talking to you," before removing one of her size six shoes and chucking it as hard as she could at the back of his bead. She froze, both physically and internally, once she noticed him finally stop and turn around with a ferocious look on his face.

If it wasn't for the circumstance, he wasn't such a bad looking guy. He looked to have been approximately six feet, if not taller, with hair so dark it appeared blue under the dim streetlights. His frame seemed to have minor muscular definition but nonetheless he looked lean and athletically built under his slightly baggy attire. The usual tan pigment of his skin was tinted a rosy shade obviously signifying the immense anger he was trying to control.

"Gomennasai," Serena declared before half bowing and hightailing it out of that very incriminating and possibly dangerous situation.

The frigid wind whipped at her face as she made a sharp left around the corner. She couldn't help but laugh at the look on that jerk's face; it served him right for ignoring someone in need. He was probably one of those rich snobs that never got spanked in his life. He probably just ran around breaking things and talking to anyone as he pleased. So she wasn't wrong in doing what she did. This was just what a spoiled brat like him needed to see the light. She may have lost one of her shoes to such an unworthy individual but she gained some perspective. The menace continued to laugh heartedly.

But as her giggles subsided, a thought suddenly hit home.

She had ran for three blocks when she realized that she had left her bag with all her paints and brushes back at the scene of the crime. Braking hard, Serena smacked her hand on her forehead and muttered, "Shit!"

* * *

Darien rubbed the back of his head in spite as he distastefully watched the young blonde girl who dared attack him run off. Gaining his composure, he bent over and curiously picked up a small sneaker lying by his foot. Quirking a single brow, his eyes traveled over to the many rejected objects sprawled along the concrete. A grinch like smirk spread across his face as he moved closer to his golden ticket. One brat's trash is another man's treasure. Picking up a single tube of high quality paint, Darien estimated its worth and thought up all the people who would be interested in buying it from him.

He grabbed the discarded messenger bag and started shoving all the equipment in its snug contents. This particular prowler wasn't necessarily a thief. He convinced himself that he was just a teacher teaching a very hot headed no named pupil the value of an attention span. Zipping up, Darien hoisted the bag over his shoulder and continued his journey. Not only would he get a lovely paycheck from Rubeus when Jadeite filled him in on his mark's whereabouts but he would make a little over three hundred dollars on the side. Out there was a large, scrumptious lobster dinner with Darien Chiba's name on it.

Walking farther down the block, Darien put one of his hands in his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper with an address scribbled on it. If his sense of direction was accurate today, Jadeite's loft should be another block. Lately, his days had been filled with nothing but luck. First, Rubeus had given him an account which could have the contract killer living in luxurious sloth until his thirtieth birthday. Then he finally got Emerald out of his hair and now not only would Darien cash in on his opus but he also had some leverage wrapped up in a lovely revenge package thanks to his little blonde nuisance. Life was good.

Crossing the street, Darien glanced down at his paper and proceeded to make a right where he ended up parallel to his final destination. He always wondered why Jadeite chose to conduct business in the suburbs when his type of work would thrive in a bustling city. It wasn't after minor pondering that he realized the logic of residing in such a reclusive section. Divulging valuable and private information to an undesirable source was bound to attract attention from dangerous spectators.

Taking the stunted staircase two steps at a time, Darien raised a fist and knocked rhythmically at the door. It took a few minutes before the guest finally heard a muffled voice demanding authorization. Leaning closer to the surface, he replied in a rather sultry voice, "I don't know, baby, who do you want me to be tonight?"

He smirked at the sound of locks snapping and chains being dislodged. After a few seconds, Jadeite D'aubigne, a thin, beautiful man of five foot eleven, opened the door and leaned up against it with an amused expression on his aristocratic face. Jadeite was the creation of an army general and a lovely, well to do waitress from Normandy. Though his father constantly relocated, sometimes overseas, Jadeite was an army brat raised solely as a French product due to a specified request by the general's wife. Corsica, Normandy, and Paris were among the French cities he has experienced and eventually, due to their constant regularity, grew tired of. At seventeen, he informed his parents of his wishes to depart French soil, much to his mother's dismay, and made Japan his new home.

"Inviting me in or is the purpose of our little meeting better served outdoors?"

"That all depends on whether you're bored of our routine and crave a little excitement. Than we'll talk the great outdoors, lover," Jadeite countered, his soft sea green eyes gazing down at Darien's smug expression as full lips twist upwards into a rival smirk.

The taller of the duo stepped up and pushed his way past the instigator. Stopping short and pointing a finger, Darien declared, "You better watch your attitude or you can forget the handcuffs."

He chuckled before shutting the door and locking up once again. Darien had been aware of Jadeite's homosexuality since the beginning yet still remained unbridled with his suggestive commentary. This type of harmless flirtation had been in constant rotation since they had first met nine years ago. At first, the handsome French man had wanted nothing more than to dismiss the youngster, deeming him too abrasive to deal with. He still remembered how their reluctant pact began. Jadeite was twenty and had just opened up shop when a young Darien Chiba came knocking. The boy was sixteen; a mysterious, cold, and short tempered street urchin who was too skinny to be healthy. The jaded youth had truly come a far ways from the aloof punk that he was, even though at times, especially during moments of involving emotional discourse or angst, he was known to completely shut down and re-adapt bad habits.

"So what do you have for me today?" Darien asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips, while removing his two firearms from its holster, unloading the clips onto his comrade's extended palm, and placing the remaining contents on an empty desk by the dining room entrance. Jadeite had always been particular about weapons especially when they entered the vicinity of his home. Even though Darien felt uncomfortable without his guns, he had always respected that golden rule without asking questions.

"Your man was hard to find," Jadeite began as he led his guest through the dining room and into his office, "He might as well be officially pronounced dead on file, a ghost. The name Rubeus gave you was even a fake."

"Tricky bastard."

"Tricky doesn't even come close to describing it; he was so hell bent on remaining incognito that he went to the extent of eliminating any records he could get his hands on. Then, I realized something when I came across this article on the net. More than a decade ago there was an institution in Kyoto which to the public revealed itself to be a normal pharmaceutical company but underground, a testing facility. I know you might think that's normal considering drugs have to be thoroughly investigated and tested before being shipped into public markets. These guys were different though because instead of animals or adults, they tested on children."

Jadeite threw down a large packet of papers before sitting down at his computer and booting it up. Watched as his pupil approached the desk, dropping his own bit of information, and carefully examine the load of information being presented, "So, with that said, enter a poor family from Okinawa who was approached and offered an opportunity of unlimited security in exchange for temporary ownership of their oldest son. Obviously, they instantly agreed, and signed the papers granting them permission to take him. What the family didn't know and failed to ask was what they were going to do with him; their mind was a little too preoccupied with immersing themselves in the many things all those dollar signs would provide them with. In 1992, after one year in the facility, the boy went missing. And you know what an even bigger doosy is? Rubeus is reportedly linked to funding this very illegal operation. The feds don't have any real evidence proving it but there's much speculation; one reporter even had the balls to state this in an article."

"If this kid is really our man, makes sense why he's so hell bent on bringing Rubeus down."

"Well, with further research, I discovered this kid went missing until 1996 where they found him loitering around in Osaka. There were no further articles until about four years later when he reappeared in the papers, but this time in the obituaries section," Jadeite declared, swiveling the computer around to face Darien, "On February 16, 2002, the vehicle of one Alex Yuri, then 18, was found wrecked and torched on the side of a major highway just outside of Shibuya, where the family relocated to. Cops called it a suicide when the kid's medical records emerged. Apparently, Yuri had been in and out of hospitals due to severe chemical imbalances, without a doubt brought about by the experiments he underwent when he was younger, and was diagnosed with severe depression. Eventually, the case was closed and his file was put on the backburner. There's only one problem with this; they never discovered a body or any of its remains."

Darien looked up from the computer and focused his attention on a pair of breathtakingly bright eyes. Appearing a bit skeptical, he asked, "How do you know for sure this is who I'm looking for?"

"Because I ran into his very illegal plastic surgeon in this high profile Shinjuku bar a week ago and had a little chat with him. I knew this guy from when I first started up my business; he's not only the man the Yakuza employed to meet their needs but also the only person I know of in Tokyo who offers this type of flawlessly conducted option. Anyway, he said he ran into a case three years back, a young kid came into the very same bar, told him he heard that he was the man to go to, and asked to have his identity completely erased and reconstructed. When my guy told him that it wouldn't be cheap, the kid procured a rarity – one large duffel bag full of cash. He was convinced and went through with the procedure. This, my friend, was the final product."

Tempestuous eyes stared at the computer screen as the fair skinned blonde unlocked the folder and brought to life a photo of "Andrew Crown" age 25, born in Kyoto on December 29, 1981. Wild, shaggy bleached blonde hair matched almost impeccably with light green eyes and relatively fair skin. A small scar, to what Darien believed was simulated to further authenticate the illusion, adorned his brow and reached the top of his left eye. Jadeite's source truly did an amazing job. If it wasn't personally addressed, he would have never guessed that this Andrew Crown was once Alex Yuri.

"Now, there's only one problem. Once those finishing touches were made, Crown practically vanished so my informant lacks further information. He, as you may know, doesn't have any solid records, chances are he relies on the help of the followers in his sanction when it comes to living, medical arrangements and so forth," Jadeite declared as he procured one of file from the confines of his drawer with a smirk, "But luckily for us, he's very much human and made a little mistake. Tsukino Aslan was born on July 4, 2005 to Serena Tsukino and Andrew Crown at Memoriam Hospital in downtown Tokyo. Apparently, the girl's father is big in the medical field, a world class surgeon, and kept the file under wraps to save his daughter from public scandal."

"So if the file was sealed, how did you get your hands on it?"

"As you may remember, I have a cousin here in Japan. When I came here from France, my aunt allowed me to live in her home until I got situated. I ended up staying there for about a year, so we became close. I got a call from her yesterday and during our phone conversation, she informed me that it had been a friend's son's birthday. She talked about the gathering for a while until a familiar name popped up. She said how 'Andrew' was a dead beat father, that he never did anything for his kid or the mother. When I asked about him, she said she didn't know much about him and had never actually seen him before. I took that as a lead and fortunately, women, particularly nurses, love a sensitive man in search of a long lost brother with charm, good looks, and a French accent."

Darien shook his head, a rare million watt smile stretching across his narrow face, and exclaimed, "You're a fucking genius."

"You should've known that much since the beginning," Jadeite smugly proclaimed. He pointed down at the file and continued, "That's all the information you need to know about the girl and her family. Chances are if you get in with them, you're bound to run into Crown."

Darien reached down, gripped the folder, and scooped it up to take a better look at its contents. Opening the primary manila flap, a petite girl of no more than eighteen appeared playing with an infant. Her hair, so blonde it appeared silver, was pinned back in a tasseled bun as large baby blue eyes twinkled in pride of the little boy flying high in his mother's hands. The viewer almost laughed once realization dawned, "I know this girl. This bitch threw her shoe at me..."

"What?"

"Nothing. The important thing is I have the perfect alibi to get me into her house," the blue eyed deviant replied, thinking back to his coveted bag of paints, before turning to the next page. As his eyes beheld the sight of an older woman, his breath caught in his throat and chills caused an epidemic of goose bumps to infect patches of smooth, taut skin. She may have technically been a victim of time continuity, but Irene Tsukino was a gorgeous, jovial woman. A shiny raven halo cascaded down her shoulders in loose curls as flawless ivory skin contrasted against the dark impeccably. Irene's was quite a sight to behold but her eyes were what really caused men and women alike to stop dead in their tracks. Possessing the color of the blues tangled within vivid oranges and pinks of a sun set, her eyes were practically submerged in eternal depth. She had _her_ eyes.

Darien closed the file shut and almost crumbled it within his fists. His anger began to boil over and he could feel the slight tremble racking his insides with dread and disgust. He could feel the all too familiar sickness taking control.

"What's wrong?" Jadeite asked in accordance to beholding the emotional train wreck before him.

"Nothing, I gotta go. Thanks for the help. I owe you one," he simply stated before gathering his belongings and making a quick departure. Destiny knocked on his door sooner than he could have imagined. After all these years everything would finally come full circle.

Slipping the clips back in his guns before securing them in their resting spot, Darien unlocked the doors and slipped back out into the night.

* * *

_So lovely and innocent. Nobody truly understands your worth or can come close to comprehending your beauty._

Diamond DelGrassi stared down at the picture of a young woman sitting by the baby grand piano in his studio. A big smile stretched her naturally angular face out and gave her eyes extra sparkle. Softly swiveling his glass of brandy around, he took a small sip before putting the glossy photo back down on his desk and leaning back in his large leather chair.

"_But don't worry, Serena, soon you will have someone to cherish you as you deserve."_

"You know, brother, it's not very healthy to sit alone in the dark and obsess over a girl who wouldn't even known you existed if it wasn't for a silly little instrument."

"What do you want, Rubeus?" Diamond asked, sounding more bored than angry at his brash comment. Reaching a slender hand up, he pushed a lock of wheat blonde hair behind his ear and watched his intrusive brother with disinterest.

Rubeus walked towards his brooding partner's desk and took a seat across from him. He was attractive but not in the way his brother was; his shaggy crimson hair was wildly spiked as tan skin remained surprisingly flawless for a man. His eyes were exotic, shaped wider than the average person's, and were the shade of the purest waters of the Caribbean. With such good looks, he, along with Diamond, were constantly accused of being too soft to run such a high profile organization. Unfortunately, those poor souls learned the hard way not to second guess a DelGrassi.

"I won't deny it; she is quite the piece of ass but don't you think you're giving her a little too much credit. She's pretty but she's no fucking Mina James," the red head spat, rolling his eyes, "Plus, the chick is jail bait. It's about time to move on to greener and more legal pastures."

"Mind your own business, Rubeus. Plus, don't you think you should be worrying about your own romantic investment's affairs. Oh, and just so you know, I am not using the term 'affairs' figuratively."

"Fuck off, Diamond," Rubeus snarled before emulating his companion's motion and leaning back in his seat, "Emerald isn't fucking anyone but me; she would have to be cracked to even have thoughts about sleeping around."

"Emerald is cracked so I guess you have some questions to ask."

Diamond smirked as his boss's face matched the color of his hair. Rubeus may have been the sole proprietor of this company, but he still had a lot of maturing to do if he wanted to keep it alive. It was too easy to make him angry and as common sense proves, in both real life and works of fiction alike, anger would only lead to destruction. If Rubeus didn't learn this lesson, he could kiss all his hard work good-bye.

"What the hell crawled up your ass?"

He sighed, choosing this as the perfect moment to finish off his soothing beverage, and stared up at the ceiling. The prodigy had been very irritable lately. That realization alone was enough to secrete a bad taste in his mouth, after all Diamond DelGrassi was a man who kept his cool and allowed nothing to effect him or his better judgment. Sometimes he wished the hindering feeling of humanity was easily disposable.

"Nothing. I just do not want anyone interfering in my business and that includes you, brother."

"You need to get laid, Diamond. Sometimes I wonder if you even know how to fuck anymore," Rubeus jeered as he held up his head with the assistance of his hand, "Stop with the fatal attraction; she isn't the only pussy in the world so move on."

"I can't believe you are my brother," the blonde mumbled audibly, "Is there anything productive that you came here to discuss with me or are you here for the sole purpose of annoying me."

"I know you're the one who upped the stakes for the hit on Crown," Rubeus announced, tired of beating around the bush, while rolling his eyes, "Personally, I'm not complaining about sending Chiba to rub him out, that asshole was starting to bug me, but why so much? Plus, you never involved yourself with the company's dirty work. I'm starting to think your contribution is a little bit more personal than just protecting this company's assets."

"He was a hard target to trace. Chiba would have lost motivation if proper compensation wasn't offered."

"Right, because we all know how easy it is in this establishment to take a job and then give it back because it was too hard to accomplish. You're full of shit, Diamond. I'm not getting in your way or chastising you for such a foolish decision but don't let that girl put the wool over your eyes because if she succeeds, I might just have to bring the little princess into our war. And you know what happens when we bring new blood into war, don't you?"

Diamond's eyes narrowed dangerously on Rubeus as his lips twisted up into a rabid sneer, "Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm threatening her. Just call me your psychic friend; a psychic friend who was kind enough to give you a free reading. Do our girl a favor and prevent my prediction from coming true, yeah?" The ruthless dictator implied before winking, getting up from his chair, and making his way to the door with a bounce in his otherwise confident step.

Diamond's sneer grew steeper. How dare he threaten him? Rubeus had no right to pry into his personal affairs. The bastard had no power over him; he couldn't even keep his own wife from whoring around. There was no way he was going to just sit around and let that incompetent weakling think he could step on him.

Angrily, the slender CEO grabbed his expensive crystal glass and threw it at full force against the door the cocky entrepreneur had just walked out of.

* * *

Irene Tsukino sat on the couch in the dimly illuminated den and looked down at one of her daughter's outdated magazines. The Three Starlights had been on the cover of the January issue. It had been a New Year addition and they had just announced their upcoming spring tour. While she had been putting laundry away in Serena's room, Irene noticed the magazine in the trash and decided to claim it for herself.

Sighing, she flipped the magazine back a couple of pages and re-read the Starlight article; her eyes beginning to slightly water. Her husband would always tease her about her secret life as a cradle robber ever since he found the magazine on her nightstand. Glancing at the picture on the other page opposite the written portion, the three young men smiled at the camera; Taiki flipping out a peace sign, Yaten stretching back and winking at the squealing fangirls which would without a doubt be looking through the magazine, and then there was Seiya who leaned back on his chair and coolly smoked a cigarette while also winking at the camera. She lifted her fingers to her lips and then placed them softly over Seiya's picture.

"Mom," came a whisper from the entrance of the den that caused Irene to jump up and drop the magazine in a motion which desperately tried to feign awkwardness. Noticing her mother's strange disposition, Serena crept into close proximity and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Is everything okay?"

Irene smiled and placed a hand over her daughter's own warm one, "I'm fine, sweetheart. You're a little late, what happened?"

"Sorry, I got so wrapped up at the temple that I didn't notice how late it was getting. Just don't tell, dad, okay? I really don't need another lecture about responsibility and the importance of saving up enough money to buy a watch that actually works."

She chuckled and nodded, patting the tardy blonde's hand sympathetically, "Fine, it'll be our little secret this time. But don't make it a habit walking in at two in the morning, especially on a school night."

"Thanks, mom," Serena declared with a sigh of relief before bending down, embracing, and kissing the older woman with gratitude, "I'm going to go upstairs to check on Aslan. He didn't cause too much of a fuss while I was gone, did he?"

"We must not be speaking about the same kid because my grandson is an angel."

"An angel? Now I'm sure we're not speaking about the same kid," Serena joked before patting her mother on the shoulder and beginning her ascent up the stairs.

Keeping the smile on her face, Irene bent over to pick up the magazine she had dropped. Just as she regained her composure and had a firm grasp over her reading material, a soft yet urgent knock at the door caused her to jump up again and drop the magazine again. Cursing under her breath, she got up, tightened the robe around her body in order to cover herself up further, and walked over to the door. Placing a hand on the door knob she called, "Who's there?"

"I'm sorry for bothering you so late at night, ma'am, but I'm a friend of your daughter's and I actually have something that belongs to her. Can you please give it to her? It's important."

Exhaling, Mrs. Tsukino unlocked the door, removing the chain from its captivity, and pulled it open to come face to face with an unfamiliar, older than expected, face. Twisting her face in confusion, she kept the door slightly ajar and stated, "Can I help you?"

"You're looking rather well, Irene. And since you asked, you can be so kind as to tell me this - How can a human being sleep so soundly when she has such a heavy burden to carry on her conscience?"

Trying to slam the door in her intruder's face, a hand snapped out and forced it open. Crying out, Irene hissed, "Who the hell are you? What do you want?"

"C'mon, Aunt Irene, aren't you happy to see me? It's been so long, I figured the reception would be a little warmer."

"Darien?" she whispered, eyes widening in surprise, as her force on the door lessened considerably causing her to be thrown slightly back by the opposing friction. She watched as her long since absent nephew walked in with a dark look on his face. She wanted to reach out and grab him into her arms, tell him how happy she was to see him, but all she had the capacity for was the unintentional production of a gaping mouth.

Darien leaned back, carefully shutting the door as not to alert the other party upstairs, before crossing his arms, leaning back against its sturdy surface impassively, and taking in the sights around him. Shaking his head with disgust, he began, "Lucky aren't you? A nice little life in a nice little home with a nice little family. See, moments like this are why I don't believe in God."

"Darien…"

"Shut up," he forcefully spat, "You moved on with your life without consequence. You don't deserve any of this. Does your family know what type of a person you are? Does your husband know the monster he took as his wife? Did you hold your daughter when she was a baby and confess all your sins to her? Do they even know who you were and what you did? You and your disgusting little life are nothing but lies."

Tears burned at the eyes which closely mirrored her assailant's as she sunk down to her knees with her hands on her face. She had not had the luxury of adjusting to her new position for mere seconds later, she felt hands tightly grasp her wrists, yank her body up, and push her into the den where he slammed her up against the nearest wall. Darien pinned his aunt's hands above her head as his face came dangerously close to hers. His eyes were devoid of emotion and possessed within them an unspeakable fury. He was no longer the sweet boy she had once known; this man had chosen darkness.

"So, have you spoken to Seiya lately?" Darien asked rhetorically before letting go of elegant wrists, grabbing onto the collar of her soft powder blue robe, and throwing his prey down on the floor. He stepped over and lightly pinned her arms underneath his feet with disregard to the contorted look on her face, "I can answer that for you considering the first chance you got, you dumped him in an orphanage. I asked you to care for him so why isn't he here?"

Beginning to sob, she gazed up at him and exclaimed, "I didn't have any experience with kids. I was young and I didn't want to risk making a mistake which could screw him up. I was afraid."

"Newsflash, you already screwed up. They abused him, did you know that? They abused him and he took off; if I wanted him to end up like that I would've left him on some street corner. You had your chance to make amends and you blew it. If anything happens to my brother whether it was directly in result of your poor choices or not; I'm going to kill all your friends and then your entire family. I'll kill them all before I eventually come after you!"

"Please…"

"You and me have unfinished business," he condemned after leaning down and roughly grabbing the older woman's face within his callused grip, "You're going to pay."

"Mom?" A soft voice called from upstairs; the sound of a gurgling baby mixing into the pronunciated request like a backing track. Creaks signifying a possible decent resonated upstairs causing Darien to put a free hand over Irene's tear moistened lips.

Leering back over, the animalistic glint in his eyes shining brighter than ever, he whispered, "I'll see you soon."

Like a thief in the night, Darien Chiba jumped up, blended into the shadows, and disappeared through the front door leaving behind a devastated Irene Chiba Tsukino, who rolled herself into a ball on the floor and cried silently.

"God, what have I done…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Sailor Moon is a product of Naoko Takeuchi.**

**AN :** Hm…I don't know exactly how to word this without sounding like a review hog (and I apologize if I do) but this will be my last chapter until I receive any kind of reviews.

The reason I write is not only to please myself but also to please my readers and if there is no feedback then I have no idea whether or not I accomplished my goal. So, if you enjoy this, please review, I'm not asking for much just enough to prove that this story is worth continuing. Thanks :)

Now on with the show!

**Requiem**

Chapter Two

**The Road Less Taken**

_At the moment, I felt like I was living a double life. Irene Tsukino, the woman I am today, was married to a wonderful man with a wonderful daughter with whom she could share her joys and sorrows with. Granted, Serena was not of my own flesh and blood, but nonetheless she was still mine. This life, I cherish above anything else I can call my own. But then there was Irene Chiba, the woman who committed atrocious sins and buried them cowardly behind a picturesque life. This woman lived with a broken spirit and heavy heart; a lost soul with no place to go. I knew it wouldn't be long before that forsaken past collided with my present. _

She slowly started to get back on her feet. Rubbing her arms, she turned her gaze to the side and noticed Serena curiously staring back with her son slumbering in a warm embrace. Grinning, Irene motioned for her daughter to come join her.

"I'm going to put Aslan in bed but I'll be right back down," Serena whispered, her eyes never leaving the line of vision her mother stood in, before creeping back up the stairs to fulfill her promise.

_I was young. I didn't know what to do. Sometimes I feel cursed because I still remember that night so vividly in my mind. Darien, my sweet nephew, held Seiya's hand protectively and begged me to care for him until he was able return. I didn't really know why I agreed to begin with. I was only twenty-two at the time and was in no position to raise a child. But there was something in his eyes, the very blue eyes that mirrored his mother's and my own so precisely, that caused me to immediately oblige. Maybe it was the earnest vulnerability I thought my sister had destroyed through her treacherous acts shining through the loathing. Maybe it was because I knew the real reason why he left his brother behind; the reason which caused Darien to swallow any selfishness and give up the one person he held so dear. Or maybe I just felt guilty._

Sighing, Irene walked away from the den and into the kitchen. She didn't know if she could find the courage to ever step foot in that area of the house anymore. Maybe it was foolish to think this way but it couldn't be helped. Tonight, in that very room, everything changed.

_I loved Darien so much. I remember when my sister gave birth to him. There wasn't one drug store between my house and the hospital that I didn't run in to. He was my first nephew so the gift had to be special, nothing second rate. When he came out and screamed to the world his existence, the doctors and nurses were speechless. They said he was the most beautiful baby they had seen in a long time and I couldn't agree more. His breathtaking looks didn't stop there; it was as though the older he got the more handsome he became. I laughed at him when he was very young and teased that maybe he was from outer space. That he would never go through an ugly duckling phase because the planet he was from was specifically designed for the beautiful people. He just stared._

She turned on the stove, listening intently for the clicking to signify ignition success, and placed the kettle on the flame. Irene hoped Serena hadn't heard anything from upstairs. She didn't want to deal with the possible scrutiny of her family at least not until she could begin to come to terms with Darien. Right now, it was better if Kenji and Serena stayed as far away from this as possible. Things would be easier that way.

_His father, my brother in law, Adam was a wonderful man. He loved his family with his entire being and did everything conceivable to make everyone happy. For example, when my sister was pregnant again, this time with Seiya, Adam saved up some extra money he may have accumulated and spent it on a violin for Darien. When he gave the instrument to his son, he said, "I know you might think it's a strange instrument to learn but I figured you might want to go down the same road as your old man. Now, when your new baby brother comes, you won't feel so lonely when your mom has to pay a little extra attention to him. Plus, I'll teach you a new song so when you find yourself feeling a little outshone, you can play it and know that I'm always with you no matter what." Darien was taken by the idea and decided to dedicate himself entirely to it. It was cute for a six year old to show such devotion. Adam taught him a few pointers along with the aforementioned song, (a song that would later be referred by Darien as "Adam's Song" since his father never officially named it) which he found himself enamored with for its soothing melody. But when Seiya was born, everything had changed and no song in the world would make things better._

"Hey."

Irene turned around and smiled at her daughter before motioning her to sit down. Focusing her attention back on the stove, she asked, "Would you like some hot cocoa, honey?"

"Sure," Serena replied while balancing her chin on the palm of her hand and beginning once again to study her mother, "If anything was wrong, you would tell me, right?"

The inquiry caused the elder to spin back around a little faster than originally anticipated. Placing her hand on her chest and tilting her head to the side, Irene said, "Of course. You know I could never keep anything from you, baby."

She smiled big before sweeping an unnaturally light lock of hair behind her ear. Irene smiled as well but as she faced the opposite direction of her companion, the joyful expression turned into one of painful uncertainty. Inside, she apologized for her lies but her unwavering resolve remained – she loved her daughter this was a destiny she could no longer run from.

_Everything in that house went upside down when precious little Seiya was born. Adam worked more and my sister found herself feeling more irritable by the minute. Little Darien would just sit by the crib, bow his violin, and watch over his baby brother. I can recall the first time I saw that very odd sight; it warmed my heart to see such love from a boy so young. Little brothers were the enemy at Darien's age which made it all the more touching. I could barely talk to their mother and sometimes I found myself wondering if she was suffering from some kind of post-partum depression. I eventually gave up the thought and started visiting less. It was during one unforgettable day after months of absence, I decided to go back over. Much to my relief I found my sister feeling slightly more energetic. Yet that feeling of ease turned into dread when I noticed Darien looking less like a living breathing boy and more like a broken toy._

"How is the audition tape with Diamond coming along?" Irene asked out of the blue, trying to alleviate the burden of an awkward silence while reaching for the cabinets, pulling out two mugs, dumping the packet of cocoa, and pouring the boiling water over its powdery brown contents.

"It's coming along great! Not only is the song, and I mean this in a the most humble way possible, a masterpiece but Diamond said that since he's an alumni and that I've been studying with him so long, acceptance into Julliard is guaranteed," Serena declared with a sparkle in her eye and a tone which made her mother smile.

"Not to rain on your parade but if, no when, you get that acceptance letter what's going to happen with Andrew and Aslan?"

The aspiring composer's expression alternated into one with a darker undertone as she picked up the blue mug with a star and moon motif and took a cautious sip of the hot liquid chocolate. Putting the cup back on the table, she folded her hands and stated, "I'm taking Aslan with me to America. I love Andrew but he's hardly ever been there for his son so I'm far from sympathetic. If he wants to visit Aslan in New York, I'm not objecting but visiting is the extent."

"What if he tries to fight for custody?"

Serena bitterly smiled and picked up her mug once more, "Trust me when I say that's the least of my worries. He'll abduct Aslan before he ever steps foot in court."

_When I noticed Darien's sudden change in disposition, I made it my duty to come back often to check on the boys. It was strange; every time I came around, his violin would sit in its case untouched. When I asked him to play me his father's song, he would simply get up, go check on his brother, and once he came back pretend I had never made that request. I was confused and a little taken aback but decided to leave it alone. Before I knew it, three years had passed and my visits still remained constant. That was until one afternoon when I showed up unexpected bringing some gifts for the kids. I just walked in, thinking nothing of it, and noticed Seiya in the living room watching cartoons. Giving him a big kiss, I ruffled his hair and asked where Darien was. Like an average four year old taken in by the power of Bugs Bunny, he pointed back to the hall signifying he was in one of the rooms. I began my quest._

"You know if you ever need any help, you can always depend on me right? You're strong, Bunny, but with school, especially a school as demanding as Julliard, and a job you're not going to have any time for Aslan. If you find yourself in times of trouble, you can leave him with your father and myself and we'll come to visit you often so you won't be too heartsick for him."

"I know, mom," Serena began, her face softening considerably from the discomfort brought about by the previous topic, "But he's my son and I can't just leave him behind. Besides, that little bugger has my heart; I know after a week I'll be right back in Japan ready to take him with me, so I'm going to save my bank account the blow and just bring him along the first time. It'll be tough but I'll get through it."

"In one piece?" Irene playfully asked as she kept the plainer of the two displayed coffee mugs firmly in her grip.

"Now that I can't promise."

_I checked Darien's room first and then Seiya's but there was still no sign of him anywhere. The last option was the master bedroom and started walking towards the closed door without hesitation. I licked my lips, placed my hand on the knob, and pushed open the door to see something so horrifying that to this day when I recall it, I freeze up and my mind goes into a stall. There was my sweet, innocent Darien, the most beautiful baby covered in flem to date, lying underneath his mother who straddled him and nibbled at his collarbone. He stared up at the ceiling and if it wasn't for sparse blinking, I would have thought he was dead. Before I could stop it from coming out, I whimpered. Two sets of eyes fell upon me and in accordance; my sister jumped up and wrapped an available robe around her exposed figure. She tried to stop me but I dropped the bags I was holding on the floor and ran out, slamming the door on the way out. I should have acted differently now that I'm sitting here meditating on it. Maybe things could have been different._

"Just take it one day at a time. That's all you can do."

The young blonde nymph nodded in understanding before getting up and relocating her cup to the empty sink. Stretching, she walked over to her mother, laid a gently kiss on the top of her head, and affirmed, "I'm going to head downstairs and practice some piano before I start getting ready for school. I figured since it's already past three, an extra two hours of sleep won't do anything for me except make it harder to get up. So I'll do something productive with my time; Diamond would appreciate that afterthought. With that, I might finally be able to convince him to dust off and break out the gold star system. I mean, choosing practice over sleep deserves at least one gold star, right?"

Irene chuckled while looping her hand back behind her and patting the reluctant comedian's arm. Turning around and winking, she declared, "You never know, he might just give you a whole sheet of them."

"I couldn't get him to give me a whole sheet if I resurrected Chopin, Beethoven, and Mozart and convinced them to collaborate on a sonata in his honor," she sarcastically replied before landing one more quick kiss on a mop of ebony hair and walking off to "earn her stars."

She smiled, watching the petite shape of her eldest child disappear into the basement, and sighed.

_I didn't know what to do. I heard about sexual abuse on the news all the time and always had quick solutions on how I could either prevent or repair it, but I was never prepared for a situation in which I would actually have to use those techniques. Two weeks had passed since I walked in on the compromising position and I started wondering whether Adam had known what was going on under his own roof. Chances are, with him being the type of man he was and obviously not doing anything about it, he didn't know. I wanted to find out for myself. At that time, I saw it as a very profitable circumstance for the boys. I mean when Adam found out, he would gather the kids, leave, and give them a life they deserved. I never expected his reaction to be the exact opposite of my imagination._

_I remembered the look of rage on his face and how he stormed out of the café with me hot on his trail. Once we got in the house, Seiya looked over at the thunderous entrance with a look of fear on his face, immediately scurried out of the living room, and into Darien's quarters. My heart pounded when I followed Adam, who stormed into his son's room and grabbed him roughly by the wrist. Seiya screamed at the top of his lungs, tears already beginning to pour down his tiny face, as his father dragged him through the hallway and into the bedroom he shared with his wife. I had never seen my older sister look so frightened in her life. She dropped the book she was reading down on the bed and jumped up on her feet._

"**_Is this the bed you fuck our own son in? OUR BED," Adam screamed as he ripped the covers from the bed and threw them as hard as he could at his wife._**

"**_Wait…"_**

_I glanced over at Darien who looked away from the blatant act of violence unfolding in front of him. I began to step forward to retrieve him but Adam took the initiative by grabbing his tiny wrist and staring shamefully down at him. Tears blurred at his eyes as he looked away from his father, who only gripped the child's chin and forcefully made him look up at him._

"**_Look at me like a man…a man who has disgraced his own father and destroyed this family. I hope you're happy, you little bastard, this is as much your fault as it is your whore of a mother's. You are no longer my son. You're dead to me."_**

_I watched as Adam let go of his son and fled, trying to conceal his own angry tears, with my sister hot on his tail. With an aching in my heart, I slowly turned to look at Darien who slowly sunk to the floor, sobbing. As I stepped forward to comfort him, he slapped my hand away, staring up at me with unrecognizable eyes, before running past me down the hall and into his room. That was the last time I saw him before he showed up at my doorstep with his infamous request. I let him down the first time when I confessed my discovery of the abuse to his father, in turn causing him to walk out on his family, and I let him down the second time when I put Seiya in an orphanage._

She trailed a lazy finger over the rim of her cup with a familiar sinking sensation peaking at the pit of her stomach. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. It caused tears to prickle at her eyes and sway the blue pigment back and forth like an ocean during the storm. Darien was right to hate her. She violated his trust and to add insult to injury never bothered to keep tabs on Seiya, thinking that if she did he would want her to take him home with her in turn defeating the purpose of putting him there to begin with. Many years later, when news came out that Seiya Chiba had become Seiya Kou of the Three Starlights, Irene found a golden opportunity to catch up. Hence the overabundance of articles on the group scattered throughout her house.

Standing up, Irene Tsukino followed Serena's example and placed her own mug in the sink right next to hers. It was late and she did have much to do in the morning. Yawning, the surgeon's wife practically glided across the spotless linoleum floor and turned the lights to the kitchen off.

_I promise, Darien, I'll make things right again between the three of us. It'll be just like it was before. I've changed, kiddo, and I'll prove it to you._

* * *

He hit the bag harder and harder; his fists growing numb underneath the gloves protecting his hands. He strategically placed the image of every person, one by one, who had ever caused him harm both emotionally and physically on the inanimate object. The anger within in him boiled to the point of exploding. In the very back corner of his mind, he wished he still had Emerald as a scapegoat. Sex was always a great stress reliever; it did the job quicker and less painfully than continuously hitting a bag packed with grains at full force.

It was already five 'o clock in the morning and his head had still yet to touch a pillow. Darien figured the only way to fall asleep in cases of insomnia was the exhaust yourself physically and mentally. Working out had always been his number one go-to activity when it came to physical exhaustion but mentally, there were numerous strategies he could fall back on. Recreationally read a book which requires the reader's undivided attention, study, or plan out the latest heist. This fine morning, planning the latest heist had tickled his funny bone rather successfully.

He really hoped his brash behavior hadn't caused complications in getting to the girl. After all, his aunt had been known to be exceptionally gifted where running her mouth was concerned. Darien punched harder and faster incorporating ducks and kicks into the routine. He wasn't all too worried about it though. There was no way she would complicate her black and white life with satisfying her inner gossip queen with scandalous information. If she did talk, she would have to confess things which wouldn't put her in a very flattering light.

"My, my, aren't don't we proof that the early bird truly does get the worm."

Darien continued his workout, unconcerned with his uninvited guest. The voice had only fueled his temper further and his power became dangerously close to knocking the bag straight off its hook. Malachite Turner was Rubeus' right hand man and trusted advisee. A native of Germany, Malachite moved to Japan at the tender age of five with his software programmer father and homemaker mother. When he was eight, his parents were brutally murdered in the back alley of a downtown theatre. Many speculated Yakuza but nobody had any solid leads to incriminate. Gaining his experience on the streets, the orphan soon turned from a sweet, well mannered young boy to a ruthless rough and tumble man. For this drastic growth in character, he always referred to Germany as his home and Japan as his heart. He had once said that Japan had pulled the wool out from over his eyes.

"Not too happy to see me? It's a real shame you know, you used to be such an obedient little pet," Malachite hissed as he got a little closer than Darien appreciated.

Inflicting one last hit, he turned around coldly; his gloves firmly pressed to his sides as his eyes narrowed on Malachite viciously. Sweat poured down tan skin and saturated the loose tank top hanging from his lithe figure as black strands of perfectly straight hair possessively stuck to his forehead.

"You're looking rather well even though you're still a little too thin for my liking."

"Funny because it wasn't meant to be for your liking."

Malachite smirked before folding his arms and replying in a monotone voice, "I hope you studied all your information because the boss wants to see you about the progress you've been making on the latest case. Considering he's not in the best of moods, I suggest you get going now to brush up on some of your file content."

"Memory like an elephant," Darien simply retorted before focusing his attention back on the punching bag, "Judging by who trains them, you'd do better to save the words of wisdom for your other dumbass recruits, general."

Stepping forward, the taller gentleman put his hands on Darien's shoulders causing him to tense up immediately. He leaned in, making sure to be mere inches away from his ear, and whispered, "I remember a time when you used to be my recruit, Chiba. Seems like I have to take you back to base and _retrain_ you. I can't have my pet pissing and shitting all over the rug now can I? It's obnoxious and if you keep doing it, I might just have to put you to sleep."

The blue eyed soldier spun around and hit his superior as hard as he could. Malachite staggered back, smiled, and slipped a finger underneath his nose to discover a crimson fluid trailing from one of his nostrils. The lashing didn't stop there. Darien ran forward and landed a kick square across his jaw, this time causing him to fall on one knee and spit up more blood. Angrily, he kicked the boundary stepping blonde to the ground and spat, "Keep your fucking hands off me, scumbag! I'm not a kid anymore, so don't think you can get away with the shit you used to pull when I was too weak to fight back!"

Malachite kept the grin on his face, watching his attacker's chest rise and fall with every taken breath, and continued to wipe small portions of seeping blood. He had taken part of creating this dark specimen, this killer, and as he came to that realization, his smile grew broader. He enjoyed the look of hatred on Darien's face whenever the young man looked at him. It made him lust even more after him. Before, he was a boy who would do anything to belong but now he was a challenge. It always excited Malachite to imagine all the creative ways to break him further into his hollow shell.

Shaking his head, Darien reached down, chewed at the Velcro responsible for keeping him in captivity, and threw the gloves down on the ground before exiting the gym.

"You're not getting soft on me, are you, Malachite?"

A woman, who looked younger than the age she really was, stepped forward. She was a vision of beauty as the gym's fluorescent lights highlighted her voluptuous figure meticulously. The look on her lovely face was patronizing and she crossed her arms to add confidence to her power over Malachite's defeated form.

He smiled, getting back up on his feet and brushing himself off, after blazing to life a cigarette which was skillfully procured with magician-like stamina. Exhaling, he turned and faced the much smaller woman, "Never. I must say, though, our boy has gotten rather strong. I would congratulate him if I didn't have the overbearing desire to dismember him."

"Easy, tiger, you'll get your chance soon enough. Not only will you get to tame the wild beast but he'll finally experience the reciprocation of his own doing. I want him to suffer but until that moment, you are not to lay one finger on him. Understand?"

"How are you going to go around Rubeus with this? Do you realize how angry he'll be when he finds his mistress tampering with his property?"

She grinned, sashaying up to Malachite and plucking the cigarette from his lips to place it in between her own luscious ones. Light scarring could be seen around her left cheek when she allowed the light the completely embrace her previously lingering shadow. Taking a drag, she blew the smoke directly in his face and said, "Don't worry about Rubeus. The man is a tool which I intend to use to its full potential. Plus, I'm the one who orchestrated Darien's arrival into this company so technically, he is my property. Just do what you're told and the fruits of your labor will be handsomely rewarded."

"As you wish, m'lady," Malachite replied, pulling out a second cigarette from a dwindling package in his pocket, and leaned back, supporting his weight mainly on one foot, "Why do you want him so badly? What did he do to you if you don't mind me asking?"

"I do mind, Malachite, so stop asking such useless questions and focus more on your responsibilities. I want success and if you fuck this up, you'll be very sorry."

"I don't fail, you should know this fact by now, but I do hope you're not forgetting what you promised in return. I help you get Darien Chiba and you help me step up to Rubeus' position when our master faces a very unfortunate demise."

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it. I know what I promised and the company will be yours if you do exactly what I tell you."

Bowing slightly with a twisted smirk still etched upon his face, the general spun on his heels and proceeded to walk away from his counterpart, who remained behind continuing to smoke the confiscated cigarette.

Watching him disappear through the double doors of their meeting ground, she dropped the cigarette on the floor, ground out the remains, and whispered, "Soon."

* * *

_He looked around his environment; eyes blurred with tears, and noticed the trees lining the sidewalk swaying back and forth. It was peaceful and a long way from the chaos of he was accustomed to at home. Looking up, he studied the sight of the teenager leading him by the hand. The latter looked determined; his lanky frame tense and alert as droplets of blood stained his wrinkled white t-shirt as well as a small portion of his face. _

"_Why did you leave mama behind? She could be hurt."_

_He didn't answer but instead walked faster. The small child felt himself being dragged along as the grip on his hand tightened significantly. He didn't ask any further questions, knowing very well the look on the older boy's face, and continued to cry silently. _

_It was about one in the morning when he came running into the room, a violin case in one hand, quickly gathering the seven year old up into his arm and running out the door. The strong scent of gasoline trailed through the house and continued until the duo had reached the front lawn. He had told the youngster to go down the street and wait for him there but unfortunately, due to a child's infamous curiosity and short attention span, he had not obliged. Sitting back, the child observed in horror as he walked closer to the house and ignited the lighter in his grasp. Dropping down on the grass, his eyes followed the crackling of gold as it streamed down a single file line and into the house, completely setting it ablaze._

_Little Seiya Chiba screamed._

He awoke with a jerk, the soft light of dawn trailing through the blinds, and dancing along his face to instigate the usual blinding sensation. Squinting, Seiya rubbed at his eyes furiously, bringing to light two towering figures through the haze.

"Hey there, sleepyhead, long time no see."

The musician jumped up but was pinned down by the bigger of the two intruders. He screamed causing one of the men to slap him and put the tingling hand on his mouth. The second aggressor drew a blade threateningly from his jacket. Breathing heavy, Seiya bitterly stared up at the thugs while lying perfectly still under their amused glances.

Smirking, the man holding the knife waved it around in hopes of proving a rather obvious point and explaining, "We've been tracking you for ages, kid, where have you been? The boss has really missed you. Says he can't sell quite the same way without you waving that cute little ass of yours around."

Angrily, Seiya jerked up, bit down on the meaty hand covering his lips, and shouted, "You're a dead man, asshole! I'm going to fucking kill you."

In a furious rage, the larger man landed a punch across the brazen teenager's face before his hands enveloped around Seiya's neck like a matching puzzle piece. This only prompted a laugh from the barbarian's partner who gazed down at the blatant act of violence with thirst. Seiya smacked his hands down on the couch; his eyes watering and face turning different shades of red. Lifting a hand up to signal a halt, he knelt down and ran his hand along the side of their prey's face.

"When you left, the boss was very disappointed, especially when you ran out the door with 3,000,000 of his hard earned yen. He wants it back."

Seiya smiled and replied, still choking for oxygen, "Now whose fault is it that his yen disappeared? Mine for being too clever or his for being too stupid."

The brawn of the duo raised his hand again to strike the mouthy thief but was intercepted by his more patient superior. Sighing, the latter shrugged his shoulders and stood up after placing his knife back in his jacket, "Oh well, I guess if you can't cooperate we can always just pay that sexy little girlfriend of yours a visit, see if she wants to help you out with making payment. She'd be a hot little item on the market, don't you think, Nephrite?"

"Oh yeah. I mean, there are already plenty of guys playing with themselves to her picture, I can only imagine the commotion when they find out their wanking days are over."

Seeing an unusually bright shade of red, Seiya leapt forward and tackled Nephrite onto the ground. Straddling him, he screamed and blindly threw down punches which almost rattled the earth below. The intimidating menace laid on the ground, blood beginning to seep from his nose and the corner of his mouth, as he desperately tried to throw the thunderous force off him. Seiya had shown no signs of letting go; the young man showing traits equivalent to a rabid dog. It was only until he felt a hard barrel up against his head that his lashing stopped and his hands were reluctantly erected into the air.

"Sapphire, kill this fucker," Nephrite shouted while pushing him away and wiping the fluids draining out into the open.

Sapphire only held his hand up to quiet his comrade and grinned, "You've grown quite the pair since I've last seen you. I remember the first time we picked you up off the streets. You were such a fucking crybaby. I wanted, with every fiber of my being, to kill you. But you were lucky that the boss loved you so much."

"What's the matter, Sapphire? Jealous that the boss treated you more like a disposable stepchild than the son you really were," he growled from his position on the floor. His eyes burned with both hatred and intolerance yet still possessed within them a pleasure at seeing the slightly contorted expression Sapphire's face.

"You were always a disrespectful little shit. That pretty little face might have worked with a lot of people, but you're nothing but worthless, damaged goods to me. I think I'll take up the necessary task of teaching you some manners."

As the barrel pressed itself closer to Seiya's temple, a soft gasp was heard causing three pairs of different colored eyes to look back at a young girl, foreign to their feud, staring back with a gaping mouth. Her soft red hair tumbled in waves down around her shoulders as sky blue eyes, the color of a serene river, widened at the sight of guns and blood. She took a step back. Her heart thundered against her chest rather loudly; her long, shapely legs threatening to give out underneath her. With a cry, she tried to run away but was intercepted by Nephrite, who grabbed her by the wrists and slammed her forcefully into the nearest wall.

"My, my, aren't you a lecherous little snake. Here I thought the actress was your one true love," the gun wielding villain proclaimed in playful discourse while motioning for Nephrite to bring their newest arrival closer.

"Leave her alone," Seiya spat. He groaned as Sapphire's size eleven shoe fell heavier on the side of his face without remorse. His eyes closed in anticipation of the pressure transforming his head into a mass that closely resembled the two dimensional pancake.

"Please, I don't know what's going on here but if you let me go, none of this gets let out into the open," the girl promised as tears of fear began to form underneath long eyelashes, "I'll keep my mouth shut. I swear!"

"Sadly, sweetheart, you know too much. I can't risk any information leaking."

Sapphire aimed the gun at the girl but the shot was averted due to Seiya's quick reflexes. Reaching up, grabbing his leg, and tossing him back onto the couch, he jumped up from the ground with the instincts of a feral cat and plowed right into Nephrite with the desire of finishing off what he had originally started. The distraction gave the innocent hostage enough incentive to make a break for the door.

Grabbing Nephrite by the collar, he landed two punches in before an explosive sound, deafening to the average functioning ear, froze time as well as the inhabitants within the confines of that very room. Slowly, Seiya looked up and noticed his one night stand leaning up against the wall for mere seconds before sliding down to the ground, a trail of blood the only indication of contact.

"Fuck," Seiya whispered. His eyes widened at the tragic sight before his large chocolate eyes; hands loosening its grip on his victim's shirt. Usual slow, synchronized breaths came out in heavy puffs of air as his heart stopped in his chest. An all too familiar and paralyzing guilt overtook him. He grabbed his head and closed his eyes as flashbacks of a tarnished past plagued him mercilessly.

Due to his preoccupation with far from pleasurable images, his guard dropped. It wasn't long before Seiya felt a dense object hit the back of his head causing the world around him to be cloaked in darkness.

* * *

Throwing the towel over his shoulder, Darien approached his boss' door and knocked twice on it. If truth be told, he really wasn't in the mood to further conversate with anyone in this institution, even Rubeus. His head had been thrown into a tailspin ever since he found his aunt's precise location and sparse information thanks to Jadeite. All Darien wanted to do was go home, get a shower, and start reflecting on the many ways to execute a recurring plan.

Receiving an invitation, he reached out and opened the door leading into an orderly, illuminated room. It was funny how an erratic personality such as Rubeus could keep such a tidy working space. Everything was perfectly organized into folders within filing cabinets adorned with technologically advanced combination locks that only Rubeus himself could get in to. His desk had a few papers scattered among the surface and lacked the usual nic nacs an executive's desk possessed. Aside from a couch and mini bar, his office was equally barren.

"You wanted to see me?"

The red head smiled and pointed to the chair across from him. Watching his protégé comply and advance forward, Rubeus stated, "I wanted to see where you're at with the Andrew Crown assignment. You're taking a longer time than usual getting the job done. What's the problem?"

"There's no problem. I'm in the process of completing it; I just need a few more days to get close enough to the target."

"Why don't you just go to wherever he's at and take him out? I already gave you a sufficient amount of time, Darien, and I'm getting impatient."

Darien stared at his boss impassively, his elbows resting on the arms of the expensive Italian leather seat, and remained quiet. He didn't want to divulge too much information to him. It didn't matter that Rubeus was a friend to him; he was the type of person who get the information and kill the Tsukino family just to get to Crown. Whereas, he didn't care much for a potential fatality, he did care that someone else would get to Irene before he did.

"Chiba! You're testing me and you know how I feel about people who challenge me."

"I'm handling it," he bit back as he held his head up with one of his hands, "If you're questioning the way I do things that's saying more about your own work ethic since you're the one who trained me."

"Watch your mouth," Rubeus growled, narrowing his eyes, before leaning back in his chair and sighing, "As your boss, I expect you to tell me everything you know about Andrew Crown. If you don't, you better have a passport and a good place to hide because you're out."

The employee continued supporting his head on the palm of his hand, the look on his face still remaining cold, and stared straight into Rubeus' eyes. He had to control the rage within him as to stop himself for doing something he would regret. Darien was growing tired of caging his animalistic nature; he had been controlling this force ever since he was a kid and he didn't know how much longer he could keep the latch from breaking. Rubeus had indeed noticed this side when he was a teenager and therefore set him up with Malachite and Marimoto Takashi, a fellow assassin, for tactical training which mostly involved boxing, combat, and weapons training. Ironically, the general and his accomplice had done nothing more than fuel the beast further and after three years, Darien was taken out of the duo's jurisdiction after almost beating one of his opponents to death during a 'friendly' boxing match.

"Are you going to answer or should I give you a head start?"

"If I tell you what I found, are you going to stay out of my buisness from now on and let me do this job my way?"

After receiving a minor nod of approval, Darien sighed and began, "Jadeite did some research and found out that Andrew Crown was actually Alex Yuri, a medical experiment done by one of the many facilities you finance. After a few months, he ran away from the establishment and went missing. When they found him several years later, they discovered signs of severe depression caused by chemical imbalances from the extensive drug tests he went through when he was a kid. Fast forward several more years later and you have a successful 'suicide' attempt in Shibuya late one night after a joyride. Alex Yuri wasn't in the car when the police arrived at the scene but instead he was getting the plastic surgery necessary to become Andrew Crown."

He slouched a little further into his seat and extended his long legs out to fight impending cramps before continuing, "Shortly after all was said and done, Andrew Crown knocked up some teenybopper in the Tokyo region and sources say he still comes around for the kid. If I get myself acquainted with the family, I can get myself acquainted with Crown as well."

"Jadeite sure knows how to play his cards," Rubeus proclaimed while clapping his hands together in amazement, "Who's the family and what's the girl's name?"

"The surname is Tsukino," the blue eyed killer replied while purposely leaving out the girl's name. A last name was already sufficient enough information; Darien didn't need to make it elementary for Rubeus to screw him over if the thought ever struck.

"Tsukino. That's what I thought," he declared, more to himself than to his guest, as thoughts drifted back to Diamond and his coy aversion of a particular subject.

Darien quirked up an eyebrow at Rubeus' odd behavior but decided against asking him about it. He really didn't want to know what types of wheels were turning up in his head, after all it might have resulted in discovering something that he could have lived happily without ever knowing. Beginning to get up, he asked, "Can I go?"

"You know, one day, you're going to have to break free from your anti-social routine and stop brooding all the fucking time."

"Funny, considering I recall someone I know saying that it was better to brood about something than whine about it."

"Touché," Rubeus replied before waving a hand in dismissal, "Get back to work. I'll give you an extra few days but if he's not taken out by then, I'm going to take measures into my own hands. And we both know you don't want me to have to do that."

Darien didn't say a word in return but knew the underlying meaning to his declaration. Rubeus may have a unorthodox approach to the way he conducted things due to his colorful personality but when it came to threats and negotiations, his world suddenly turned black and white. It was the reason, besides his ruthlessness, that he hasn't been overthrown yet.

Noticing him leave, the CEO hit a button on the intercom sitting by a stack of financial papers and at the sound of his secretary's voice requested, "Darla, call my man and tell him I want to see him in my office first thing in the morning to discuss a new course of action."

"Yes sir."

Rubeus released the button, sat back down at his desk, and stared at his door sardonically. Unfortunately, time was of the essence and he didn't have enough of it to grant Darien his allocated extension. The kid was slipping up and there was no room for mistakes in his company. With the information he provided, his "number two" could sweep in, make the hit, and it would all be over and done with. To accomplish something you had to get your hands dirty, words of advice the red head was more than willing to abide by.

* * *

"_He's still a child. How do you expect him to actually function? He probably doesn't even know the meaning of organized crime."_

_He sat listening to every word the men were saying. Tapping his foot nervously, he began to comprehend the dire consequences that went along with this group rejecting him. He would no longer be free, or have an opportunity to be free, but instead become a toy they would abuse until it was of no further use to them. The room was becoming less of a room and more like a shoebox. The realization only caused the youth to sweat more profusely. _

"_He can't handle this lifestyle, father. I think you're making a mistake."_

_The unsympathetic boss looked over at his only son and scowled. Removing the cigar from his lips, he grabbed the doubting Thomas' wrist and positioned his large fingers to align with the more feminine looking ones. Pushing one finger forward, the youngster screamed as his finger bent backwards in an unnatural manner. Blowing residue of thick smoke at the teenager's face, he hissed, "You do not question my decisions, Sapphire, I've taught you better than that."_

_Sapphire nursed his injured finger once the elder chose to release. Tears blurred his vision as he rushed out of the room in shame; he pushed by the guards unsympathetically and walked out the door in anger._

"_Do not mind my son. He tends to talk more than he should," the syndicate's master explained coldly before arising from his seat and taking a step closer to analyze his newest potential, "I've been watching you for quite a while, Seiya, and what surprises me more than you're skill is the size of your balls for daring to execute your plans in Kubuki-cho. You do realize that this is overrun with dangerous men who, without a doubt, will be after those oversized balls when they discover your identity."_

"_I'm aware," Seiya responded. He was trying to be as confident as possible but with one of the biggest Yakuza syndicate leaders towering above him, he was finding himself losing his resolve little by little._

_The elder laughed in amusement. Turning around, he walked back towards his chair, sat down, and picked his cigar back up. Continuing to observe, he declared, "I will not prolong this meeting's purpose any longer. I want you to join our organization. I can not see you refusing, after all how long can a street rat survive in Kubuki-cho without the proper supervision? So, I am giving you the opportunity of a lifetime but I forewarn you that I do not tolerate failure or betrayal. If you betray me, I will not rest until I collect your head and mount it on my wall. If you choose to join us, you are apart of our family for life. Understood?"_

"_I understand."_

His eyes slowly began to open and almost instantaneously, the pain shot through his head and pulsated at his temples. Moaning, he reached up and touched his forehead tentatively. He felt a ticking echo throughout the hollow ends of his brain and suddenly the thought of an explosion didn't seem all that ridiculous. As he slowly began to pick himself up, Seiya pulled his hand back and recoiled at the crimson fluid trailing down his fingertips. It was then that realization dawned of what had occurred to put him in such a state.

Glancing up, his eyes fell upon the body of his one night stand. Death was truly a funny thing; it stirred such irrational feelings. Last night, Seiya could hardly wait to get this girl out of his sight but now, in death, he had regrets of refusing to exchange meager pleasantries and information. She died with feelings of worthlessness; a feeling that after many casual partners he recognized in most. The thought caused a pang of guilt to invade his heart.

Seiya stood up and reluctantly made his way into the bathroom. He had to get cleaned up as quickly as he could and leave. Who knows how many people had aurally witnessed the tragedy? The police could already be on their way for all he knew. Maybe it would be for the best to simply clean the wound and leave a shower for later.

Turning on the faucet, he leaned forward and began to splash cold water on his face. Where would he go now? After investigation started and with his celebrity status, there wouldn't be a place in Japan he could hide without being spotted. Seiya groaned in annoyance. For once, he wished he was just an average joe with no true relevance to the public eye.

Maybe he could visit Mina. The musician froze as his blood ran cold with thoughts of Sapphire's threats. No, he couldn't get her involved in his plight. With the possibility of her in constant danger, Seiya would not be able to focus. Soon to be on the run from the mob and the police, he didn't have time to worry about her safety. Unfortunately, it would be for the best to let her go.

Sighing, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off with it. He moved towards the door, keeping a firm hold on the obvious blood stained incrimination, before making his way to the bedroom. On the rare occasion that he would turn his mobile on to check messages, Mina had coincidentally left a voicemail informing him that she would be temporarily in Ginza for a shoot and would be staying at the Marriot _Japan_ in room 1626. That was good news considering it would considerably cut the arduous transportation time from a day to an hour. Plus, relocation was perfect at least until the heat died down. Sapphire might have already discovered Mina's Osaka residence so it was better paranoid and safe than laid back and sorry.

After plucking his shirt from the floor, he threw it on and grabbed his watch, rings, and cigarettes from the nightstand. He would go see Mina, say good-bye, and hit the road. It was the best plan Seiya could come up with in such a short amount of time. He wondered what it would be like knowing that from this day forward he would no longer be able to see or talk to Mina anymore. They had been together for so long; the idea almost felt unnatural. It was almost like parting with an organ you had been born with and in time grew with.

Unfortunately, this was necessary. The organ that had become so vital in his life has grown cancerous and the only way to insure survival was the part with it. Life would continue even though it would be a slow recuperation.

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

"Excuse me, Mr. Kou? Can you please open the door? Some of the guests have complained about a disturbance so we have to take proper precautions. If you do not respond to our demands, we will be forced to call the police."

"Shit," he whispered to himself rather animatedly as his heart jumped up into his throat. Tiptoeing towards the door, he proceeded to crouch down and crawl to where his shoes were. The knocking only grew more frantic and Seiya had to stop every now and then to make sure that management was still ignorant to his attendance.

"Mr. Kou, this is your final warning. If you do not open this door immediately, we will call the authorities and have them deal with this situation!"

He sat by the door, afraid to make anymore noise if he went further, and stretched his leg out to shimmy his shoes closer to him. Silence resonated at the other side of the door and he could hear the manager whisper to one of his employees to call the police. Seiya now had approximately fifteen minutes to make an escape or he was as good as busted.

"We are sorry to inform you that the authorities have been called. Make it easier on yourself and open the door."

Catching a breath, and thanking the Chiba gene pool for his long legs, Seiya snatched up his footwear and slipped them on accordingly before crawling right back towards the den where the corpse was located. There was no time to quickly run a rag over the quarters' surfaces to clean up any fingerprints, as he had originally anticipated, or even to dispose of his paraphernalia on the table. Right now, he had to do the impossible and find a way out of a penthouse suite.

_KNOCK! KNOCK!_

"Mr. Kou, don't make this difficult! We just want to ask you a few questions and take a look around to put our other guests at ease, so please cooperate with us."

Seiya threw open the curtains shielding the balcony from view, opened the sliding door, and stepped outside. Due to his petrifying fear of heights, he almost fainted from the sight of air, buildings in the distance, and concrete ground much too far below him. Trying his best to put the fear behind him, he edged towards the balcony and noticed that the balconies below him were equipped with a fire escape. Rolling his eyes at his own stupidity, he cursed himself for being so spoiled. If it wasn't for his desire to obtain the penthouse suite, he would be currently climbing down the ladder of freedom.

He looked back over the edge and concluded that the balcony below him wasn't that far away so if he jumped, there was a very good chance that he would make it. He laughed at his own ludicrous proposition. The probability of him jumping and reaching out just in time to grab the ledge in order secure himself from a staggering death was slim to none. Seiya was a gambling man but these odds were just plain suicidal.

"Mr. Seiya Kou! This is the Shinjuku police department. Open this door right now or we will be forced to open it ourselves!"

"Fuck," Seiya shouted while running his hands roughly through his hair. The odds of catching the next ledge were indeed suicidal but being caught by the cops was just plain unacceptable. He would rather fall to his death than go to prison. Climbing up on the ledge, Seiya closed his eyes and balanced himself. Perspiration dripped from his forehead and trailed down his face as he turned his back on the scenery.

"1…"

"Open up, Mr. Kou!"

"2…"

"Alright, we're coming in!"

"3…"

Right at the moment the police barged into the room, Seiya jumped. He had to admit that the freedom of being temporarily airborne was rather liberating. It almost felt as if all his problems had separated themselves from his body and jumped right off the ledge with him. There was no gravity or time, just air. His philosophical near death experience was cut short when he felt his weight increasing as he plummeted towards the earth.

He reached for the ledge below but to his horror missed and continued to tumble down. Screaming, he continued to reach out until he finally collided with a ledge two stories below the one he was originally supposed to catch. Breathing heavily, Seiya used all his strength to pull himself onto the surface and roll right into safety's embrace. He whispered several obscenities on the balcony floor before cracking up in laughter at his dumb luck.

That had been close.

His body shook in fear as he tried to lift himself up in order to continue his escape. He supported himself by leaning on the ledge as he made his way to the very left where the fire escape was coyly located. This was in fact a very old hotel and plans to renovate it, including removing the fire escapes, had been in constant circulation. Thank heavens he got into this mess during pre-production. Seiya grabbed hold of the ladder, swung his body on it, and steadied himself before climbing down to rejoin Japanese civilization.

Compared to what he soon was forced to do, Seiya was suddenly starting to realize that this experience was, ironically, the easiest part.

* * *

Serena put the finishing touches on her hair before reaching for the tie on her bureau to complete her school uniform. She still couldn't believe that this was going to be her final year in attire of such a conforming nature. No more knowing what to wear everyday and to sweeten an otherwise oppressing circumstance, the ban on makeup would finally be lifted. It wasn't like she wore that much to begin with but it was still nice to have flexibility. Starting next year, sky was the limit when it came to a freedom high school girls lacked.

Grabbing her backpack from the floor, she patted her cat softly on the head before kissing her slumbering son and beginning her decent. Considering how late her mother had been up, a hot breakfast was out of the question this morning. Sighing, Serena checked her bag for some extra cash and decided to stop for a bite to eat instead. She had gotten ready fairly early, considering Sammy wasn't even up for school yet, so time was on her side for once.

She opened the door, slipped out, and closed it just as cautiously as she had opened it in consideration to her family who were all still asleep. The spring was starting to awaken the hibernating heat and trees were beginning to bloom with vivid greens and yellows. Spring was Serena's favorite season. She loved watching everything come to life and blossom. It was like witnessing a rebirth in front of your very eyes; a fresh new start for a life form which had lost its way in a previous time and place.

It was completely dead on her block causing Serena to wonder how early she really was. The sun was rising over the horizon, painting the navy sky various strokes of orange and pink, so it had to be at least after six. Rei, Amy, and Lita were going to have an aneurysm when they noticed that she was the first one to arrive. The thought of their expressions and her invitation to gloat was enough to make Serena chuckle evilly to herself. She suddenly had the urge to take her breakfast on the go.

"Excuse me, miss?"

"Hm?" Serena asked half conscience of her environment. Turning around, her eyes fell upon an older man who towered above her five foot three frame by about eight to nine inches. His dark hair was unkempt, lacking the average styling product, and matched perfectly with tan skin and a set of piercing blue eyes. His clothing complimented his carefree hairstyle with an olive sleeveless tee, an old pair of jeans, and sneakers. He was incredibly thin but had the muscle definition necessary to make him look masculine.

Studying her caller, she noticed how attractive he was and blushed slightly at the thought. She had never seen him around the neighborhood but, strangely enough, he did look familiar. It was something she couldn't put her finger on. Serena started wondering whether he had just moved in bringing to light why he had interrupted her journey.

"Did you just move here?" She asked in hopes of distracting him from her rosy cheeks. She watched as he continued to look her over, almost studying her in the same manner she had just previously done but without the red shade of embarrassment. Nervously, the scrutinized school girl placed a loose honey colored strand behind her ear before placing her hands on her hips. She was starting to grow rather impatient with his silence.

Smirking at her gestures, he replied, "No. I ran into you yesterday late at night by the temple not too far from here. I wanted to find and give you back your paints. These are great quality, better start paying closer attention to where you leave them."

Serena's mouth opened wide in astonishment. She knew he looked familiar; he was the jerk who bumped into her; the jerk who went through all the trouble of looking for her just to give her back paints which he could have easily kept for himself. Just as she was capable of getting her face back to its normal fair complexion, the thought of her shoe smacking him upside the head sent her cheeks right back into a more pink color spectrum.

As if reading her mind, he added, "Sorry, but I didn't grab your shoe in the process. What I can offer you though is a look at the damage if you're feeling a little nostalgic."

She laughed, placing a hand up to her mouth as to keep from appearing rude, and teased, "I'm very sorry. I didn't realize you were so delicate."

"I guess that makes two of us."

Serena smiled as silence once again fell upon them. In between the lapse of lackluster conversation, he continued to observe her. She was more of a looker than the picture led him to believe. Her hair was almost too gold to be her real color and sapphire eyes the shape of large almonds took up the majority of her face; them being her most prominent feature. She was very thin and lacked the assets a real femme fatale was known for possessing but her petite frame looked cute wrapped up in a white and navy school girl uniform. Too bad she was jailbait, he thought, they could have had some fun.

"Before I forget, thus making this trip completely useless, here're your paints."

Darien extended his arm with the familiar light blue canvas bag hanging from his fingertips. Watching as she took it from him, he put his hands in his pockets and watched as she joyfully hugged its contents and looked inside it. For some strange reason as he gazed upon her innocent reaction and heard a sigh of relief laced with a chime of laughter, he felt himself slightly soften. It had been a long time since he saw someone so euphoric that the feeling practically became contagious. He frowned at his weakness; the anger within beckoning him to remember all the pain simulated happiness such as this had caused. Darien had been fooled one too many times with smiles and kind words. Behind the warmth, there was always an ultimatum that cost him his dignity and trust. Without a second word or glance, he began to walk away.

"Hey, wait," Serena called while stepping forward and lightly touching his hand. The gesture meant well, it's only intention to stop the retreating figure, but it didn't go over too well with Darien. Recoiling, he spun around with an expression so furious and dark that Serena stepped back, bringing with her a chill. She quickly apologized for her unwelcomed approach yet still remained flabbergasted at his overreaction.

"No. I'm sorry," Darien interrupted, running a hand through his hair and cursing himself for his melodramatic upshot, "I've got really bad nerves. Anyone with the right approach can crawl under my skin."

"It's okay. A lot of people don't like to be touched so I completely understand. Again, I'm very sorry"

He smirked while cocking his head and pointing out, "It's hard to believe you're a high school girl. You've got better comprehension skills than people my own age."

"I may be in high school but I've been told I'm an old soul," Serena answered back, pointing a finger in his direction, with her normal cheerful demeanor returning to the scene.

"I'll be sure to look you up when I need advice beyond my years."

She grinned and before another silence erupted, she offered a proposition, "Listen, I'm going to breakfast. Why don't you come with me? It'll be my treat. I mean any guy that goes out of his way to help girls who scream at and abuse him definitely deserve a free breakfast."

"I should really get going…"

"C'mon," the blonde persisted as she began walking backwards and motioning him to follow, "I don't see a negative point where a free meal is concerned. Plus, you look like the type that transforms a simple combination of coffee grinds and water into battery acid, so I suggest taking me up on my offer and actually enjoying breakfast for once."

She turned around and made her way down the street after smiling warmly in a manner which suggested he follow. He couldn't help but smirking back. She may have been an old soul but her heart was still one of a child. She possessed within her something he never had and that thought made him nervous. Business was business though and time was running out for him. Pulling out a cigarette, Darien sighed. He had the gnawing suspicion that this was going to be a very long day.

* * *

"What's wrong, Mina? Chocolate chip pancakes are your favorite so why aren't you digging in?"

Mina Murphy sat across from her agent and fingered at the cup of coffee in front of her. She didn't have much of an appetite due to her stomach's preoccupation with a sickness only brought upon by worry. Yaten had called weeks ago informing Mina that the band was taking a break from touring so she should expect Seiya. She had rushed to the supermarket and bought the ingredients necessary to make all of her boyfriend's favorites. All day she cooked and cooked, not satisfied until perfection was achieved, and even cancelled her appointments for the day. This was an important event but unfortunately, Seiya obviously didn't share in her enthusiasm since he didn't even bother showing up.

"Hello. Mina? Is anybody up there?"

She looked up from the table and smiled, "I'm sorry, Alan, my mind's just in another place right now."

Alan Sun had been Mina's agent since the beginning of her blossoming career. Some could even say he was a big help in moving her up the totem pole of fame. At thirty two, he had been responsible for discovering some the most mainstream artists. He still remembered the freak coincidence which brought Mina and himself together. The blonde haired, blue eyed beauty was walking her usual route home from school when he intercepted her, explained his position, and gave her his card. Because of her boredom and dissatisfaction with everyday life, it wasn't long before she called him back. The rest was, as they say, history.

"What's going on with you? I don't think you realize how big this account we're working on is. This can either reward your efforts as an actress or completely destroy you," Alan declared after taking a sip of his coffee, "You know how big this director is so why are you letting frivolous things like your meandering boyfriend keep you from achieving something great? That is what your blank stare is about, isn't it?"

Mina groaned and put her head on the table while answering, "It's not frivolous. I'm just worried about him. He's never disappeared on me before, I mean, at least not for this long. I even tried calling his phone and he doesn't answer it. I hate when he does this; he's so damn selfish!"

"I don't know why you don't just dump the guy. He does more harm than good."

The starlet lifted her head up, slight traces of tears becoming visible, and simply stated, "I tried doing that. After all the crap he puts me through, I just thought about leaving him but every time it comes down to it I can't do it. I was so angry with myself but then I realized how much I love him and want to be with him. I love him, Alan, and I'm not going to abandon him especially when he needs me the most."

Alan exhaled sharply and leaned back in his seat observing a woman who encompassed both the characteristics of a client and a friend. His heart really did go out to her. She was so young and naïve; she had no business being with a guy like Seiya Kou. There was just something about him that irked him; something almost sadistic and unforgiving. But the girl was too sweet, too good, to see the truth and for that, she was sure to get burned.

"I understand but think about it, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt, Mina. It would break my heart."

The blonde smiled and wiped away the tears. Reaching her hand over, she patted the more calloused ones reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, dude, I'll be fine! Listen, I just remembered I left part of the script back at the hotel. Just go ahead without me and I'll meet you on set."

"Are you sure? I can just drive you back and then we can go in together."

"No," Mina declined as she reached for her purse and began to get up from the booth, "I'll be fine. It's only a block away plus I need to clear my head so I'll be in the zone for the reading."

Watching her advance towards the door, Alan called out, "Remember, Mina, make or break!"

She waved her hand in response before putting on her sunglasses and leaving the diner. It was warm and she made it a prerogative to change her winter wear for breezier spring attire as soon as she got home. The sun blared down upon the earth with unforgiving power. Her eyes, even though protected, still burned from its glowing wrath but then again that could have been the result of many restless nights.

How many hours had she slept last night? Had she even slept? Everyday that Seiya had been missing was a day she would sit by her window and stare out in mindless abandonment. Mina hated herself for caring so much. She wished she had it in her to reciprocate her inconsiderate boyfriend's actions. She wanted so badly to make him experience the same amount of unrest he stirred within her.

Sighing, the starlet folded her arms across her chest and continued walking the familiar route to her hotel. Lately, she had thrown herself into the current project Alan had been just so animatedly raving about, hoping work would exhaust her to point of inducing sleep, but the experience was soon coming to an end and Mina would once again be stuck with her meandering thoughts. Hopefully, by the time the film wrapped up, things would be very different.

She took the stairs two at a time and swung open the main door. Briefly waving to Roger, the front desk attendant, the blonde scurried towards the elevator before looking down at her watch. It wouldn't be too hard of a task catching a cab considering it was fairly early in the morning. Traffic would be atrocious but Mina didn't have time to dwell on that possibility. Maybe she should have taken that ride with Alan after all.

At the soft chime signaling her cart's arrival, Mina entered the elevator's vicinity and hit the sixteenth floor. She had gotten a call from Serena, one of her oldest friends, not too long ago. Serena had always been very sweet and everyday relayed the message that even though they barely saw her, she was still terribly missed. Not only did she get letters and messages, but every month since she moved away, all of her friends would send a package with pictures, clothes from her favorite vintage shop in Tokyo, snacks, books, several cards from old classmates, and home movies. Every time one of these packages would arrive at her mail slot, she would cry as she opened it. Seiya would always smile and tell her how lucky she was for having such people in her life. Mina would only nod as she held one of the items close to her. Since she was temporarily in the Tokyo area, she was hoping to pay them all a visit.

Exhaling sharply, she exited the ritzy looking cart as soon as the gold plated doors glided quietly open. Every second she would sink into her depression, Mina wondered if fame was worth giving up the people she loved. Whenever she would voice her opinions about possibly going back home, her manager would immediately intercept the thought calling it ludicrous. She would only nod and put on the usual show – a big smile and a witty retort. The loneliness was beginning to take its toll and Alan just simply didn't understand.

Mina slipped the card through the slot, turned the knob, and opened the door to her chambers. It wasn't monstrous like the quarters some of the other actresses were known for staying in but the last thing she needed was a space she could get lost in. The humble size saved her a lot plus as compensation, they gave her a balcony with a gorgeous view of the city.

Throwing her keys on the counter, she flipped the lights on and immediately jumped at the sight of her boyfriend lying on the couch with his eyes open and tension twisting his body in an awkward position. Mina couldn't speak and for the longest time they both remained silent, staring at the other in a studious manner.

"Seiya, are you okay? What happened? Where the hell were you all this time?" Mina asked suddenly, bombarding her visitor with questions too fast to be answered. Before she could inquire further, Seiya appeared in front of her like a haunted apparition and placed his hand over her mouth to silence her. Beautiful, powder blue eyes stared up at him in angry confusion yet their owner remained frozen and refused to fight against him for freedom.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you, Mina, but you can't talk until I finish," Seiya began reluctantly, his hand still hovering over his girlfriend's mouth, "Yaten must have told you that the tour was placed on hiatus or you wouldn't have that pissed off look on your face. To answer the question of my location, I was in Shinjuku. I needed time to myself; time to think things over. I rented out an apartment and stayed there from the time the tour ended until now. One night, last night to be more specific, I rented out a room at some hotel…because I didn't want to take this girl I met to my actual apartment."

He watched on in shame as tears of realization and betrayal visualized in her eyes. Removing his hand from quivering lips, Seiya held onto Mina's shoulders firmly; his grasp intensifying when she began to struggle. She thrashed against him, shouting 'No' as if she were a broken record, and pounded on her lecherous boyfriend's chest vehemently. At first, he allowed her to beat upon him as penance but at noticing the tears flowing down her face, Seiya grabbed tiny fists and pulled her against him. Even though Mina protested, he still gathered her into his arms and embraced her.

"I thought about you every night. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat," Mina breathed as her chest felt tight from the lack of oxygen, "I worried every night about you and now you tell me the reason you put me through this kind of agony was because you were sleeping with some girl."

Seiya hugged her tighter against him before whispering against yellow strands of perfumed hair, "The reason I didn't come here to be with you wasn't because I was sleeping with someone else. I didn't come here to be with you because I was ashamed of myself. I don't deserve you. I'm so sorry I hurt you but I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. You were the only person in my life who cared and loved me unconditionally."

"Stop. Just stop."

"Mina…"

"I said stop it, Seiya," she screamed as she pushed him back. She wrapped her arms around herself and continued to cry. She almost couldn't believe what he had confessed. This moment almost felt as if she was stuck in some form of astral limbo; she didn't feel asleep but then again she also didn't feel quite awake either. Mina was never blind to a rock star's lifestyle, especially on tour, but she had always hoped that Seiya would be different.

He stepped forward again, the fear of being rejected again nonexistent, and placed one of his hands on her shoulders as the other gently cupped her chin. Leaning forward, he looked her directly in the eye and said, "I have to go, Mina. I can't be around you anymore."

"What? Why?"

Seiya grinned softly at her sudden change of moods and answered, "Because there's…because I don't belong here anymore. You always knew I was more of a stray dog than a kept man so it's time I start wandering again."

"I don't want you to go," Mina whispered as she stepped forward and encircled her arms around the much taller musician, "I don't want you to wander anymore. You have a home now; a home with me."

Pulling back, Seiya ran his hands through her hair and inched her face closer to his. He kissed her softly at first but after mere seconds, it intensified into a passionate fire. Slyly slipping his tongue through a narrow slit of her cherry lips, he gently caressed the soft pink of her own tongue causing her to stifle a soft moan. He ran his hand up the back of her shirt and pulled her to him while breaking the kiss and instead holding her close to him.

"She didn't mean anything. I promise you that much."

He kissed her lips and then her cheek before slowly letting go and backing away. Her eyes widened in desperation of keeping more tears from spilling over. Reaching out, Mina proclaimed, "What's going on, Seiya? Something happened didn't it? That's why you have to run? If that's the case, I can help you. You don't have to run anymore, I can help you."

"I have to go," Seiya interrupted in fear of her discovering what was going on before he was a safe distance away. Obviously, she would hear what really happened on the news. He could almost hear it now: "Seiya Kou, boyfriend of Japan's sweetheart, Mina Murphy, and lead singer of the Three Starlights reportedly shot and killed a high school girl after he coerced her into coming back to his hotel room in Shinjuku to initiate in sexual conduct." Plus, add drugs to this whole debacle and you have yourself news worthy of a headline.

"Wait! Am I ever going to see you again or are you just going to disappear?"

Seiya stopped short by the door, smirked, and declared, "Music's my life, always has been, and you just so happen to be my muse, babe, so I'll never be too far away."

With a wink and a nod, he left in the same splendor he had first appeared in her life with. Mina smiled softly at his memorable reiteration. The first time they had met, she asked if he would just disappear after that night and he had responded, "_A musician needs inspiration, a reason to move forward. Music's my life, always has been, and you just so happen to be my muse, so I'll never be too far away._"

Something was going on and somehow, she had a sinking feeling that Seiya was in big trouble; a danger that even his smooth, aloof attitude couldn't get himself out of. Why was he pushing her away? Even if she couldn't help get him out of this hole he was stuck in, she could support him. Now, he was completely alone and Mina would have no idea whether he was dead or alive.

More tears burrowed their way to the surface as she sunk down to the floor and silently cried.

* * *

Haruka Tenoh walked through the door of the average looking hotel room and noticed all the officers scattered around the area and the young victim's body. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for the impeccable tidiness of the apartment, especially after the statements she had taken from some of the other guests before they were asked to evacuate. Taking a quick sip of her coffee, she found her partner analyzing the corpse.

"What's the situation?"

Michiru Kaioh, one of Tokyo's finest forensic officers, glanced up at the towering blonde and immediately explained, refusing to beat around the bush with pleasantries, "We have a female, age seventeen, inflicted with a single gunshot wound to the head. The bullet entered through the back of the head, through the cranium, and leaving an exit wound through the forehead. Judging by the power, the penetration, and diameter of the wound, I'm guessing the weapon of choice was a Desert Eagle.

"Any suspects?"

"One. The front desk attendant gave me the name of the resident. It looks like we have ourselves another Sid and Nancy."

Haruka reached out and took the file from her partner's hand before sarcastically chuckling and declaring, "You've got to be kidding?"

Michiru shook her head, "Afraid not. At exactly eleven o'clock yesterday night this exact room was rented out to a Mr. Seiya Kou and our victim here. Some of the guests heard a disturbance at about 5:30 this morning."

"Where is he now?"

The youngest of the duo stood up, removed her glasses, and answered, "No one knows. By the time reinforcements arrived, he was already gone without a trace."

She nodded and continued to look over the file. Something seemed a little off about this whole situation and the cleanliness of the apartment still irked her. One of the guests, residing next door, had clearly stated that there had been struggling, fighting, and screaming. Another guest had even admitted to listening in on the commotion and hearing sounds which suggested physical abuse yet there wasn't a scratch, aside from the bullet, on her which suggested she had been slapped around before being shot.

"Did you identify the body yet?"

"Yes. She brought her purse with all her identification inside it," Michiru replied while pointing at the bag sitting idly on a counter by some other bagged evidence, "Molly D'aubigne. She attended Nakamura High School, a private school located just outside of Shibuya."

"Any family?"

"She didn't seem to have much family but was survived, it appears, by her mother and cousin. And get this, her cousin, ironically, was Jadeite D'aubigne the private investigator you've been trying to bust for conducting illegal operations with the Yakuza. We may be in one of the biggest cities but it truly is a small world after all."

Haruka snorted and shifted her weight from her left to the right leg. Sighing, she rubbed at her temples and alleged, "There's something strange about this, Michiru. I don't know if you see anything out of the ordinary but it's there and it's staring us right in the face."

"I know what you mean, but until we find out what that particular something is, we unfortunately have to assume that Mr. Kou is in fact a murderer."

"Do me a favor. Tell Bruce to fill out the necessary paperwork on the case and to post a warrant for Seiya Kou's arrest. I need to hear the story straight from the horse's mouth," Haruka requested. She turned her back on the vile sight of the body and proceeded to leave the crime scene. It was time to do the worst part of her job. She hated calling the families down to the coroners to claim the victim's body; it was always a sore spot for her. She knew first hand what that one call implied. She was fifteen and the only other family she had was her older brother. Her mother had died when she was very young and her father disappeared late one night and just never came back. Haruka's brother was everything to her and when she saw him lying on the table, pale and bloated, her world shattered.

"Where are you heading to?"

"I have to make some calls," she answered without turning around to bear witness to her comrade's inquisitive expression, "Call me if you get any leads."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sailor Moon is a product of Naoko Takeuchi.**

**AN** : I would like to first off apologize for the delay in updates. Second, thank you all so much for reviewing; they gave me encouragement to continue so I appreciate it:) Lastly, I'm very sorry for any kind of errors. I have to be somewhere shortly and I made this chapter extra long so in an attempt to post I rushed spell check and revision.

I hope you all enjoy the third installment!

**

* * *

**

**Requiem**

Chapter Three

Encounter

* * *

"I'll have the blueberry scone, a chocolate chip muffin, vanilla almond biscotti, and a large cappuccino, please," Serena sang with a cheerful disposition before glancing over at her companion with a huge smile, the twinkle in her alluring baby blues innocently sparkling, "What are you having?"

Darien stared at the ferocious eater with wide eyes and a jaw which hung open almost independently. It was amazing how a human being could eat that much yet remain so thin. It was only a matter of time, though, before the calories caught up with her. A sweat drop materialized at the horrifying image his prediction procured before scratching the back of his head and muttering, "What are you? A human being or a garbage disposal?"

"Shut up," the petite blonde fumed as she crossed her arms and turned her head haughtily to the side, "I'm not going to compromise my eating habits just to make myself more of a "lady." So you can take the salad, buddy, and cram it!"

"Quite the temper you've got there. Keep it up, sailor, and compromising to fool people into actually thinking you're a lady won't be necessary."

"Jerk," Serena spat while sticking out her tongue and marching over to the barista and cashier who stood right beside her.

Darien smirked as he allowed his eyes to trail lazily behind his opponent. Such fire and passion; most people would ignorantly assume a girl like her was flighty and irrational but he knew better. These qualities were rare in such a submissive society, especially when it came to finding it within a woman. Darien only wondered what she chose to dedicate such power to and subconsciously started to yet again find it a pity that she was underage.

"Coffee."

"You're only getting coffee?" Serena proclaimed but instead masked her surprise behind a snide grin, "What's the matter? Afraid you're going to get fat?"

"You really don't waste time insulting people you just met do you?"

"And you really don't waste time insulting people who are paying for your meal! I should make you pay for your own stuff; how about that, hm?"

"I might actually take that as a threat if I had your atrocious eating habits," Darien laughed. Snatching his coffee, he made his way towards the back of the cafe to find a table but not without declaring, "Tall, dark, and handsome – 1; Obnoxious, soon-to-get-pudgy jailbait – zip."

"Tall, dark, and handsome? More like pretentious, arrogant, and pigheaded," Serena murmured to herself as she paid at the register, gathered up her food, and reluctantly followed what was quickly becoming her sty to their table.

"What's with the sourpuss? I was kidding."

Rolling her eyes, she pulled out her chair and flopped down into it without giving her verbal aggressor the satisfaction of eye contact. She pulled the lid off her cappuccino and placed a delicate hand over the steam which erupted from the delicious brown liquid to judge approximate cooling time. Serena wasn't really angry, it took a lot to truly upset her, but she wanted to stick her point home that agitating her on an empty stomach was dangerous. Deep inside, though, she had a suspicion that her closed mouth was satisfying more than it was discouraging him. That realization irked her. She quickly looked up to give him a piece of her mind but stopped her plan of attack once she noticed him staring at her.

"WHAT?" Serena furiously shouted, growing red at the face, "Stop looking at me. It's impolite to stare at someone when they're eating."

He coyly smirked while resting his chin on the palm of his hand, "But you're not eating. You're brooding."

"Whatever. Just stop looking at me."

Darien ignored her request and continued to observe her. He wondered how long their casual acquaintance would have to continue in order to obtain his desired information. Hopefully, his assumption was correct and she would be an open book in a mere matter of days. Maybe, if he was lucky, hours. This girl was naïve and beside that kid at home, he was willing to bet she barely had any real life experience.

She took a big bite of her scone while continuing to watch him stare at her from the corner of her eye. Geez, Serena thought to herself incredulously, what did a girl have to do to get some personal space, pick her nose? A light bulb suddenly went off in her head but she immediately dismissed the vile idea. Swallowing the delicious morsel of her baked good, she looked up and asked, "So, do you live around here?"

"You can say that. There's really not a location in Japan that I haven't spent some time at," Darien replied honestly after taking a small sip of coffee, "I was never someone who could sit still for too long."

"What about your family? How do they feel about this?"

"I live alone. My work schedule was always a bit too demanding to find the time to start something as permanent as a family."

Serena frowned, tilted her head studiously to the side, and said, "It must get lonely. You know, moving around so much and not having anyone by your side to share the experience with."

"You get used to it," Darien answered. Suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable, he turned the tables and asked, "What about you? Have you lived in the area for a long time?"

"Not too long. I think about seven years now. You see when I was young my mom, my birth mother, walked out on my dad and me. Not even a week after she left, he put our old house up for sale. He said it was time for a fresh start, how everyone was entitled to at least one, but I knew the real reason we had to go was because he was hurting from my mom leaving. I guess he figured that if he stayed in that house, with all the memories of her lingering around, he would go crazy."

Serena glanced down at the table and momentarily Darien thought he caught a familiar glimpse of suffering etched onto her face. Maybe she did have a little more experience than he originally gave her credit for. Looking from his company to the scenery outside, he briefly explained, "Maybe I'm outta line for saying this but you shouldn't agonize over your mom leaving. I'm sure you're angry and confused but what you have to understand is how hard it is to part with someone you love more than you can ever love yourself. In the end your mother probably figured that the pain you felt when she left wouldn't be half as bad as the pain you would feel if she stayed. I sure as hell don't know your mother or the reason she left but what I do know is sometimes the best way to show someone you truly love that you care is to let them go for the sake of their own happiness."

She instantly looked up at the absent minded man across from her and was speechless. He seemed so rough around the edges and even a bit unsympathetic but his words were a far cry from the one dimensional identity she had created for him. Serena gazed upon his face and swore for a split second she saw a childlike quality burrowed underneath the cold exterior. Maybe he had a personal experience behind his words making him less impenetrable than he reveals himself to be. Reaching her hand out, she cupped the longer, tanner one and smiled as he looked away from the window and onto the gesture.

A bit taken aback and mildly annoyed at the display of what looked to be pity, Darien quirked an eyebrow and coolly replied, "You know, to make things clear, just because you bought me coffee doesn't mean you've got a one way express ticket into my pants."

Serena snatched her hand back as if she had been badly burned. Her soft ivory skin turned an unnatural shade of red and in a fit of rage she screamed, "I'm not trying to get in your pants, pervert! I could care less about your pants, what's in them, or the most effective way to get in them and find out what's in them! I thought you had a soul, but for a split second it must have slipped my mind that Satan doesn't give his minions that kind of luxury…"

"You're babbling," he interrupted with a wave of his hand and a devious grin. Resting his chin back on his palm, Darien stated, "You've got quite the fire in you, so I'm assuming if anyone's from hell I'm pretty sure it would be you."

"Hmph…you know what they say about people who ASSume," Serena huffed as she crossed her arms and leaned back into her seat. Here she had actually thought she had seen something resembling innocence in that icebox he called a heart. Lifting her eyes back up and placing their attention back on him, she noticed Darien casually looking back out the window but this time with a hardened expression that left no room for sympathy. He looked so lost. Serena allowed the pout to transfigure into a frown. She had been right; she really had seen a dim childish spark suppressed within the darkness.

She just wondered what had happened in his life that made him so…robotic.

"Shouldn't you get going?"

"Huh?" The pensive school girl muttered distracted. Shaking her head, Serena looked down at her watch and almost choked on the unexpected turn of events. How was it already seven thirty? She jumped up, screeching in sheer terror at the very effective element of surprise, and started getting her stuff together. She had a foolproof plan so for once why couldn't time be on her side?

"I would've told you sooner but I thought you had the time under wraps."

"Considering you don't know me well, I'll let that asinine comment go," Serena muttered as she narrowed her eyes at the comment. Throwing her schoolbag on her back and canvas bag across her shoulder, she took one more huge bite of her scone and a long, satisfying gulp of her cappuccino. Hurricane Blonde was slowly becoming a force not even nature could control.

Darien's mouth became slightly ajar at the shock of experiencing first hand the ruckus such a tiny individual was capable of. He looked around and noticed almost every patron's eyes glaring their way. The pacifist of the duo chuckled and scratched the back of his head; this girl wouldn't last a day in his line of work.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around," Serena softly said with a warm smile. Her hand, wrapped itself securely around her materials, gaining a knowing grin from Darien, as her eyes pierced through his. Unbelievably, through the teasing and embarrassment, she was reluctant to leave. Underneath the sarcasm and frigidness, something called out to her almost begging for help. He was suffocating and she didn't even need to sit with him for more than a half hour to know it.

He gazed up at his parting company. With the sun blazing in from the outside, she looked more like a glowing silhouette than an average human being. Darien was beginning to feel strange around her, almost unnatural for a man of his position. He loathed the foreign feeling awakening within him, even without truly understanding it, and suddenly the desire to finish this job became overpowering.

"I'll walk you out."

She simply nodded and began to process out. He slowly followed behind but first cast another unwavering glance out the window. Sandwiched in between his moral dilemmas and internal struggle was one more insufferably unshakable distraction. The dread sank low into the pit of his stomach. Someone was watching them and Darien knew those pair of eyes were close enough to practically mock his ignorance.

"Well, it's been fun," Darien concluded, fishing in his pockets, and pulling out a cigarette, "See ya, princess."

"Sooner than later?"

Darien stopped and turned around in time to bear witness to a sly smile. Smirking back, he began walking his previously set course once again before calling back, "If I told you that much, I'd just be ruining the surprise now wouldn't I?"

Her sly smile widened as she followed his example and walked away in the opposite direction. A soft blush crept across her cheeks when Serena recalled his smile and the way a single strand of coal would hang lazily over jewel-like eyes. He was anything but boring; he just oozed danger and mystery. Her blush spread like wildfire and before she knew it, her entire face looked like a cherry without its stem.

_Man, you really are a ditz, Serena. You barely know this guy, for all you know he could be another Andrew._

The comfortable cloud of fantasy vanished beneath her feet causing Serena to come tumbling back down into the harsh purgatory otherwise known as reality. This was exactly how she remembered meeting Aslan's father. Andrew and Serena had encountered each other by sheer coincidence and eventually started privately meeting thanks to a mutual attraction. No matter how often they got together or how close they started becoming, they refused to label themselves something as trivial and constricting as 'girlfriend and boyfriend.' Serena understood that with his past, he couldn't afford to be tied down therefore making it impossible for them to become more than just friends. Nonetheless it didn't stop Serena from allowing herself to feel for him as if they were actually a real couple.

It was on a rainy Thursday evening that everything changed. They were at an acquaintance's apartment where Andrew had been staying and Serena was working on an audition piece for Julliard. She couldn't remember why she had gotten so mad but in a fit of anger had crumpled up her sheet music and threw it across the room. The aspiring composer had given up completely and even confided that she didn't know why she was doing this to begin with? Nobody had ever believed that klutzy, lazy, irresponsible Serena Tsukino would ever reach the genius status quo of composers like Beethoven and Chopin so why should she even bother to try? Her discouragement, years of sweat, blood, and tears sitting behind a piano until her fingers painfully cramped up, had grown to the point of hysteria. It was at that very moment Andrew chose to lean in and kiss her.

It wasn't a kiss of sympathy or a method of silencing her complaining. It was a kiss of pride and wanting; a kiss which begged her to understand how extraordinary she really was. Serena, already completely enamored with Andrew, unleashed all her inhibitions and allowed herself to completely follow his every direction. Her first time had been awkward but thankfully, it wasn't something she had grown to regret even though it resulted in the bearing of a huge responsibility.

Aslan was her heart. Every day she would get down on her knees thank God for him. Sure, like any sixteen year old girl she had lost control and considered giving him up for adoption but now she couldn't imagine life without him. She wouldn't allow herself to think what her mornings would be like without his smile or those big, jade eyes staring up at her. It wasn't the picture perfect family Serena had always dreamed of but now it was the only one she could ever want.

Sighing, she twirled a strand of gold in between her fingers and kicked a sparse pebble sitting idly in her way. She should be running considering it wasn't long before homeroom started but for some reason she lacked initiative. With a melodramatic huff, Serena had finally learned to accept that she was cursed to live day in and day out tardy. Swinging her leg back once more to give her nuisance of a pebble a kick to remember, she was yanked back into the back alley of a small apartment complex.

Screaming, Serena thrashed and bit down on her abductor's hand. Hearing a hiss as the hand, which obviously belonged to a man, retched in pain, she slammed her foot down on his and started to run away. Only being able to cover a few steps, she was jerked back again and held firmly against what appeared to feel like a muscular body.

"Get your hands off of me, you pig," she screeched at the top of her lungs while continuing to flap around like a fish out of water. Her heart thundered against her chest when ideas of what this man was planning to do to her crossed an otherwise overly productive mind.

He held her close to him, her body shivering in what could only be repulsion, and whispered, "Serena, stay calm. It's me."

"…Andrew…"

Andrew was silent as he slowly allowed his fingers to unravel around her wrist but still kept his one arm laced around her slender waist. He would be lying if he said he hadn't missed the little things about the firecracker in his arms; the way her soft blonde hair would trail along his fingers like satin, how large pools of crystal clear blue would suddenly humble any boisterous man with one innocent glance, or the comforting scent of banana candy and vanilla trailing from her white porcelain skin. He missed it all and thankfully to this day nothing about her had changed.

"What are you doing here?"

He reluctantly let her go so she could turn around and look him in the eyes. Serena, though, seemed to have other plans since she didn't even give Andrew the common courtesy of turning around to face him. She just stood there, deathly still, with her arms wrapped around her.

"I just wanted," Andrew staggered but snapped out of his reverie and regained the stamina he was so infamous for, "Who was that guy you had breakfast with? I can't even believe you would be so stupid as to sit down with a guy you don't even know. You know our situation and just by talking with a completely stranger you could be going as far as to put Aslan in danger!"

"No, Andrew, this is YOUR situation," Serena snapped after turning around to stare her accuser down with an expression so very foreign to her normal happy-go-lucky demeanor, "If I want to sit down and have a meal with someone to thank them for bringing back my incredibly, if-I-wanted-to-buy-another-batch-I-would-have-to-sell-a-kidney, expensive paints, I can do that. I'm not going to compromise my life and stop living because you can't get your life together. And another thing, don't you ever accuse me of putting _my_ son in danger because I live and breathe for him. Everything I do is for Aslan so if you ever say anything as ballsy as 'you're putting him in danger' again; you have better hope that was the most ballsiest thing you would want to say for the rest of your life because I will castrate you, understand?"

The synthetic blonde stood there, his mouth wide in surprise at his ex-lover's threat, in silence. Getting himself together, he scratched the back of his head and practically mumbled, "You've changed."

"No, I haven't changed. I grew up; maybe you should do the same and stop being so selfish."

Andrew reached forward and grabbed onto Serena again before she made a full retreat but recoiled when she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me," she angrily hissed. After taking notice of the pained expression on his face, she immediately began to soften. Looking at the ground, Serena continued in a more gentle tone, "Things have changed. You can't just expect to keep popping in and out of my life expecting me to pretend like nothing's happening. I understand you're trying to protect me and your son but the best way you can protect us…is to stay away."

"You want me to leave?"

"No," she whispered before looking back up at Andrew, "but if you keep coming back not only are you putting us in the crossfire, you're also putting yourself in a lot of danger as well. All this time, I was deluding myself into thinking that maybe if you kept visiting us, you might see what you've been missing and want settle down with Aslan and me. Now I realize that even if you do have those feelings, you can never fulfill them because you can never have a normal life. There may never be a possibility for us to be a family but that doesn't mean I want you to get hurt or even worse killed. I want you to stay safe because…I care."

Stepping forward, Andrew tried his cards again and wrapped his arms around the smaller girl. He graciously felt her arms wrap around his waist and in result held her tighter against him. Breathing in her scent, the scent he loved so much, he replied into the crook of her neck, "You're right. I don't want to put you two in danger anymore but you have to realize that I never wanted it to come to this. When Aslan was born, I regretted everything I had done because with those choices, I knew it was over and that the moment he was born was the closest I would ever be with him or you. I want you to know that I suffered every day I walked out the door after holding him in my arms. I did want to settle down every time I came around which is why I stopped coming around all together. I can't be attached which is why you're right, I can't keep coming around anymore."

Serena dug her fingers into his back and buried her face against his chest. Tears began to prickle her eyes as she fought to constrain them. She knew this moment was bound to come but never realized it would be so difficult. Ever since Aslan was born, Andrew became more and more of a stranger. How could someone be so sad at bidding adieu to a person they barely knew?

"I'm sorry, Andrew."

"Whereas you have nothing to be sorry about, I have much to repent for. All of this, I did it to myself," he declared while pulling back and smiling as he wiped the tears from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. Sighing, Andrew held onto her shoulders, looking down at her with lively eyes, "I wanted to talk to you because I wanted to tell you that I have decided to leave Japan and get as far away as possible. But one thing I did want to ask is if you could meet me before I left. I want to give you something as a remembrance. Can you do that for me, Sere?"

"Andrew…"

"Just promise me you'll meet me, okay?"

Serena slowly nodded. She felt dumbfounded; almost like he had knocked the wind out of her with an unexpected punch to the gut. Suddenly, she started having second thoughts about his departure. If he left, that would be it, she would never see him again and Aslan would never get to know who his father was. Her mind suddenly flashed forward and pictured the devastated look on her son's face when she told him it was impossible to ever see or get to know his father. Life really wasn't fair.

"That's my girl. Saturday, the original day I was supposed to come see you and Aslan, I want you to go to the place we first met. I'll take over from there," the handsome blonde explained before smirking smugly at the expression on the other conversationalist's face, "Do you even remember the first place we met?"

"Of course," she responded back as equally smug, crossing her arms and quirking up a single fair eyebrow, "I'll be there but the question is will you? Let it be known, I'm not in the mood to travel from our actual first meeting spot to some other nameless location on the other side of town."

"Ye of little faith."

"You're one to talk."

They both smiled. Leaning forward, Andrew laid a soft kiss on Serena's cheek while running his hand through stray strands of gold which poked out to frame her round face. Lifting his face away from hers, he whispered, "I'll see you."

She watched him walk away and felt the tears resurface. How could someone be so sad at bidding adieu to a person they barely knew? It was simple. In her thoughts, she disciplined herself not to recall him, yet in her heart, he quietly remained. Even though he was barely visible and getting harder and harder to remember, she fought against Andrew's possible estrangement. Serena didn't cry for the all too familiar absence but instead for the realization that in a few days, she would be too tired to fight and he would be permanently erased.

The way he looked, the way he smelled, his mannerisms – they would all be gone from her heart and mind. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet. All she wanted was a chance to relive the days where he wasn't Andrew Crown, the runaway. All she wanted was one uncomplicated day, a day where they could just be truly…innocent.

* * *

He watched her intently with a smirk as clouds of smoke filtered from his cigarette and polluted the air around him. Sensing a presence but without turning around to acknowledge it, he dully declared, "The princess is crying. Maybe I should go down there and make her feel better. What do you think?"

Darien pointed his gun impassively at the voyeur's head. Not bothering to reply to his seedy innuendo, the man with the upper hand coldly asked, "Why are you here?"

"Just enjoying the sights."

Cocking the gun, he lowered the barrel to his nemesis' hand and bit back, "I'm very tired and frankly, just looking at you is making me want to bleed out of every pore in my body. So let's play a game. Every single time I ask you something and you refuse to answer it, I start blowing off finger after finger until either my question is dignified with a response or your hand's barren like a tree in the middle of a fucking snowstorm. I reach my limit and you still haven't answered my question, I'll loose the gun and start chopping off more valuable parts. Sound fun, Takeshi?"

Takeshi chuckled and asked, "Is your marksman skills really that impressive that you run out of 'options' so quickly?"

"You know they are."

He frowned and stood up from his crouching position. Flicking his dwindling cigarette butt to the side, Takeshi stared at Darien, who chose this opportunity to aim his gun at a more fatal area of his body, "You haven't changed a bit; still as presumptuous as ever."

"Funny, because being presumptuous is exactly what got you in this very awkward situation to begin with. Like the pot calling the kettle black," Darien replied, his expression still devoid of any emotion, "This is my contract and I tend to be a little territorial so I suggest you head on back to Rubeus and tell him that it's handled."

"It's not that simple. Rubeus lacks the necessary faith," Takeshi declared with his trademark grin, "Not to say he's taking you off this contract. He just wants me to supervise is all."

"This isn't Ms. Tippy's kindergarten class, I don't need supervision."

"It's always good to be primal, especially in this profession, but Darien, you cross that line and catapult right into caveman status. You're a liability."

The marksman aimed his Desert Eagle higher until it fell upon its original destination right between his eyes. With a slight chuckle and mocking grin, Darien said, "Well, if I'm such a liability than I guess it won't be much of a surprise when Rubeus finds your rotting corpse in this back alley."

Takeshi's frown deepened as he looked directly at the antsy barrel of the pistol. He knew Darien wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger especially after he so adamantly promised that he would. There were many people associated with a mark that got in the middle of a hit and learned this fact the hard way. "

"_We sure did a number on this kid," _Takeshi thought to himself while continuing to stare the reaper directly in the face, _"but then again, it's not like he'd remember anyway…"_

"If I'm the one who's such a liability, Takeshi, than tell me how I smelled that foul odor you pass off as cologne from a mile away. You can't even observe someone without being caught and I'm the liability? I think Rubeus needs a dictionary for Christmas because I doubt he truly understands the meaning of the word."

"Joke all you want but until Andrew Crown is successfully eliminated, you will follow my orders."

"You're severely deluded if you think I'm going to take orders from _you_ of all people," Darien venomously spat while lowering his gun and putting it back in the waistband of his jeans, "I suggest you stay out of my way so you don't give me an excuse to put you out of your misery. You of all people know that 'accidents' happen and it would be a real shame, on your behalf, if you _accidentally_ got caught in the cross fire."

He watched the younger man wink and walk away. Angrily, he snidely commented, "You looked real comfortable with our girl over there. After we take out Crown, she's going to be really devastated and lonely, you know, maybe I should pay her a visit when it's all done and over with. A girl like that, just as a boy like you, shouldn't be made to feel alone. I should help her the same way I helped you."

Darien stopped and temporarily allowed a minor darkness to pass over his expression before shaking it off. Now wasn't the time to spoil his fledgling plans with a burst of emotional sentiment. There was still much to accomplish and ponder before this was to occur. Recapturing his cool, Darien indifferently replied, "She's not a part of the contract so it's got nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want but like I said before just don't get in my way, asshole."

Takeshi sneered. He followed Darien's silhouette until it became encompassed by the light of morning and disappeared around the corner. Rubeus had forewarned that the killer would be volatile once he discovered that assistance would be provided, especially _his_ assistance, so he specifically told Takeshi to keep his presence undetected. Darien was a wild animal with polluted thoughts. He could no longer be trusted, especially amongst his current circle, and the only way to handle a disloyal animal was to put it to sleep.

He chuckled once again. There was minor set backs since the element of surprise was ruined but Rubeus' plan was coming along rather nicely.

* * *

"Where is she? Where is she?"

Hakura looked up from her paperwork and bore witness to a hysterical woman with long, wavy red hair and pale skin. Having looked at pictures of Molly D'aubigne, this hysterical woman was definitely an older dead ringer for the young victim. Sighing, she gathered the files together but froze at the sight of Molly's cousin, Jadeite, stomping close behind his aunt. He looked impatient, disheveled and angry. This only provided a sudden feeling of dread to freeze Hakura to the core. The young homicide detective had a suspicion that investigating the young girl's murder wasn't going to be the only case in her already accumulating stack.

"Ms. D'aubigne?"

Her face snapped over to the side, a wild look and unshed tears outshining the usual kindness in her eyes, before stepping forward and exclaiming, "Where's Molly? God, please, tell me where she is? I need to see my baby!"

"Please, ma'am, I need you to stay calm," Hakura began while placing a hand on the shorter woman's arm to silence her pleas, "The reason I called you down here is because during my latest homicide investigation, one of my men found personal identification belonging to your daughter at the crime scene. Unfortunately, to appease our suspicions I have to ask for your cooperation in identifying and possibly claiming the body."

"I…I understand. Can I see her now?"

Hakura glanced over at Jadeite who was staring intently at the door leading to the morgue. His fist was tightened as his teeth, judging by the strain in his jaw, was roughly clenched. The cold chill returned as she continued to stare. This wasn't going to end very well.

"Follow me."

She gravitated towards the morgue with her two spectators in tow. Nodding at one of her fellow officers, Hakura held the door open to permit the foreign bodies to enter. The all too familiar cotton mouth sensation filled her mouth with a bitter taste as her palms sweated in sync with the uncomfortable dryness. She had been a part of the homicide division for quite a while and had seen some pretty grizzly sights but she had never completely gotten used to the discomfort a typical congregation of the deceased's family evoked. Hakura suspected she most likely never would.

"Michiru, this is Jadeite and Allison D'aubigne. They're here to view the body."

Michiru simply nodded her understanding before reaching for a pair of latex gloves and moving towards the covered corpse. Glancing up, she watched as the tall blonde man placed a soft hand on his aunt's shoulder and meagerly shook his head in reluctant acceptance. She pulled back the sheet only to receive a loud devastated cry from Allison confirming the identity's suspicions.

"Molly, no," she screamed in tears before trying to reach out for her daughter. Jadeite immediately intercepted the grieving mother and held her close to him while motioning for Michiru to re-cover the body. He stroked soft strands of crimson and whispered reassuring words yet his eyes, which stared manically at his cousin's corpse, deceived his calm mannerisms.

"I'm very sorry for your loss," Hakura offered. She took one last look at the body before her partner covered it in compliance to Jadeite's request. Shifting her gaze from the dead to the living, the young officer noticed him staring back at her in silence. Jadeite's expression was eerie and possessed a pacified madness.

"Are there any suspects?"

"Pardon?"

Jadeite kept his arm around Allison and narrowed his eyes on his cousin's excavator. Patiently, he asked, "Are there any suspects in my cousin's murder? I want to know."

Haruka was silent for a moment. There were repercussions in informing this particular man of leads but then again there were also repercussions in withholding information as well. In most cases, she could afford to keep quiet and even lie about not knowing anything about the case to family members if she suspected a vengeful vigilante would rise to the occasion. Hakura knew Jadeite was another story. If she didn't tell him what he wanted to know, the Frenchman would tear Japan apart until he did.

"We have one suspect," she admitted; her fingers gripped at the files as a feeling resulting from a negative premonition swept within her. She moved her eyes towards the wide, teary eyed mother and sighed, "We discovered Molly's body at a local upper-class hotel. Checking the records, we found she was staying there overnight with a man."

Allison placed her hand over her mouth and sobbed into her nephew's chest. Trying to ignore the devastated reaction, Haruka continued, "There was only two people seen going into the hotel room and that was Molly and…Seiya Kou."

Jadeite's eyes widened in disbelief at the confession. Unable to gather enough of a voice to sound normal, he choked out, "Seiya Kou? The fucking rock star?"

"Yes."

Silence infected the room with discomfort. Michiru bowed her head and recognized the festering foreboding which would likely become more than just a feeling. Judging from the flash she had caught before lowering her gaze, it was a mistake to tell him such a discovery. It wasn't like she would verbally question her superior's decision but deep inside she wondered if Haruka was feeling the same sensation. They were always on the same wavelength when it came to intuition but if that was the case why would she ignore the call and go ahead and tell him anyway?

"I will be taking my aunt home now," Jadeite declared, trying to process the information, as he slowly began leading the shattered woman towards the door, "I understand you have some questions to ask but right now, we are not in the right state of mind to provide the appropriate answers. I'm aware you know how to reach me, Miss Tenoue, so you can call me within the next couple of days to satisfy any inquiries you may have."

Sarcasm radiated from the aristocratic looking mourner as he gave her a knowing look. Jadeite had been aware of the numerous investigations conducted right under his nose. He was also aware of the undercover agents sent without a doubt under Hakura Tenoue's orders to the yakuza bar in Shinjuku. But it wasn't the treachery of badges infiltrating the bar that really made him angry; it was Hakura and her jurisdiction underestimating his intelligence that really sent him up the wall. He assumed they hadn't realized how obvious their presence was.

Opening the door, the obsequious suspect gave the two ladies one more look before following his aunt out. As it slammed shut, Haruka looked over at Michiru and simply stated, "He's going to be another issue we have to worry about. Make sure to tell our guys over in Shinjuku to keep a close eye on him. Plus, I want officers patrolling major cities and their surrounding borders. If I hear of one person slightly resembling our suspect slipping through the cracks, you can bet your ass it'll be their badges. I don't want any more foul play. Things are already complicated enough as it is."

* * *

_He closed his eyes tightly as the sharp needle penetrated through tan skin. Biting his lower lip, he felt tears bubble to the surface and threaten to spill. Clenching a small fist, he bit down hard enough on plush pink to revive an all too familiar crimson fluid. It was something this monster had taught him long ago. When it came to torture, it was best to distract from an unbearable pain by creating a less excruciating wound. The human body could only react to one sensation at a time therefore temporarily relieving strife from the older more painful injury._

_Smirking, the older masochist watched as blood trailed from a self inflicted gash before twisting the needle deeper into the youth's shoulder. Receiving the desired cry, he wound his hand and backhanded his trainee viciously._

"_I told you to use that technique only in cases of extremity, Darien. You're a soldier so start acting like one."_

_Blue eyes rolled back as a scrawny body lightly convulsed. Gaining his composure, Darien stared up at his elder in silent indignation as blood began pouring from the insertion. He knew better than to scream back or threaten him because after all, Malachite was the one who determined when he would return to headquarters. Plus, backlash would only make the beatings worse._

_Malachite removed the silver device without any concern for his prey's comfort. Grabbing his chin, the general hissed, "For someone who went through such a traumatic childhood, you sure take pain like a pussy."_

_Before he could stop himself, Darien snatched his face away from Malachite's grip. He had yet to utter a single word but the desire to express himself was becoming more than he could handle. This was going to be a long session._

"_Sexually molested at such a young age; I can only imagine the damage that did," he proclaimed as he pressed his palm against the throbbing cut and grinded against it as hard as he could. At the utter discomfort etched upon the young man's face and fingers gripping the edge of his seat, Malachite smiled wide while inching closer to Darien's scrunched face._

"_You might hate me now but when the time comes and you're looking your enemy in the eyes with more power than he can even begin to comprehend, you'll understand my malice."_

_Darien's world almost went black as he stared up at the ceiling and tried to picture himself anywhere and everywhere besides in this very room. He began shaking uncontrollably. One minute he was on a deserted island where the water was crystal blue and the sand an untainted shade of white and the next having a cup of coffee in France overlooking the Eiffel Tower. _

"_Feel it! Don't distract yourself from the pain. Today's lesson is to make you comprehend this importance of physical pain! It is the most common method an enemy will use against you. Do not ignore its importance."_

_Squeezing harder, blood beginning to pour from the throbbing wound, Malachite laughed as his charge finally screamed in agony. After what seemed more like hours than mere seconds, he released Darien from his clutches. Frigid, piercing eyes watched on with a light heart as the soldier collapsed onto the floor in defeat and convulsed. Turning around while releasing a cigarette from its confinement, Malachite motioned for his fellow companion to enter the premises._

"_Looks like our boy isn't as tough as he makes himself out to be."_

_Malachite laughed with a wave of his hand. Taking a quick drag, he simply responded, "Maybe its time to show our boy who the alpha males are in this establishment."_

_Darien rolled himself into a ball while breaking out into a heavy sweat. His eyes moved rapidly under shut eyelids while feeling a distant nausea sensation violently overtake him. He had begun to believe he had come down with an illness which refused to dispatch. For weeks, he had felt weak and fallen victim to massive migraines and increased sleepiness which begged him to remain in bed. _

_With the strain of Malachite's training, Darien had even grown desperate enough to start praying for the sickness to get worse and eventually claim his life. But almost immediately, he took it back when a memory of Seiya popped into his head. No. He wouldn't die until he reunited with him one last time to see if he was doing okay. Darien would fight as hard as he could to survive for his brother's sake._

_Kicking at his ribs, the lead footed man barked, "You hear that, kid? It's time you learned your place."_

_Looking up at his aggressor through heavy lidded eyes, Darien took in the man's blurred characteristics and automatically matched his face to a fellow assassin's identity. Takeshi Lang had been a part of Malachite and Rubeus' army since the beginning of the organization's birth. Takeshi had been a youngling just as he was and taken under Rubeus' wing at the age of fifteen. The product of an alcoholic father and a neglectful mother, Takeshi roamed the streets aimlessly, running into and causing his fair share of problems. At thirty, Takeshi was still a killing machine and number one on the president's list._

"_You're pathetic," Darien mumbled barely audible from the floor as he cradled some broken ribs._

_Malachite roared in laughter which only seemed to make Takeshi furious. Winding up his foot, he purposely kicked various times until he heard an unnatural crack. Watching him moan in torment, the angry hitman grabbed Darien by a huge chunk of black hair and pulled the partially conscious teenager's face up to meet his while undoing his belt._

"_You'll learn to obey even if we end up killing you in the process."_

* * *

Ebony lashes fluttered as beautiful blue eyes struggled to adjust themselves to the burning bright light invading his bedroom. Reaching up, Darien Chiba rubbed at his eyes and continued to strain against the sun's obnoxious rays. He took the opportunity to sit up in order to fully restore his sense of vision and grasp of reality. It was proving to be quite a difficult task considering his impending lack of sleep.

Glancing over to the side, Darien read off the time from his digital clock. Two o'clock in the afternoon. The nap had been more of a luxury than a necessity considering there was still much to do concerning his current project. Plus, to make matters a little more unstable, Takeshi had made a very early appearance in his life. This was something that was proving to make matters much more complicated where the sadist's fate was concerned. Frowning, Darien began to have doubts about his plans, especially since Rubeus' involvement was questionable.

Darien swung his legs to the side and allowed himself an opportunity to become situated before going about his usual routine. He was always dreaming. Ever since he was a child, his subconscious would always have something to show him. When he was very little, the visions were peaceful and even amusing but as he started getting older the dreams became omens. Darien was suddenly afraid to go to sleep in apprehension that one day he would get stuck in the nightmares and never awaken.

First, the unpleasant dreams were about his and all the other children's ongoing battle with a boogie man and the elusive monster under the bed. But then, the subject of his fears transformed from a mass of teeth and ridiculously long nails into something far less abstract. It became about a lifetime of loneliness, loss, distrust, and hatred. When more terrible occurrences happened in Darien's life, the dreams took on more meaning and became nothing more than a movie reel showing a recap of those misfortunes on a loop. He had woken up in tears on more than one occasion.

Sighing, he reclined, supporting his weight on his hands, and glanced up at the ceiling. It wasn't until his resolve on vengeance that the movie reel started playing into overdrive. Darien took it as destiny's persistent reminder that retribution was in order. That he must never forget or the memories and its nightmares will never stop. His vendetta began with his mother in result of the dangerous combination of gasoline and a lighter and even though he experienced moments of extreme guilt, the vigilante's thirst only grew.

He stood up, raked a hand through disheveled locks, and made his way into the kitchen. The afternoon sun burned harshly into the tidy living room and almost blinded him momentarily. Groaning, Darien wondered why he hadn't closed the blinds after he got done smoking out on the balcony. The sunlight was way too unsympathetic for his liking.

Darien pulled out the canister of coffee from one of the cabinets and scooped up enough grinds to make the perfect blend. Satisfied, he flipped the switch to the machine and plopped down on a seat at his bistro sized kitchen table. He sighed and leaned forward, supporting himself on the palm of his hand. When and how have things gotten to be so complicated?

Sure, life hadn't been too kind to him growing up but it seemed once Darien turned eighteen, things had finally started slowing down. His activities transformed from ones belonging to a personal all purpose slave into a schedule for the average working man. The ambitious professional's routine started consisting of trips to the office, getting the file on a new promising target, making the hit, and getting paid. The cycle had been so consistent and "normal"; he had started to get a little bored.

Almost lethargically, his mind trailed from thinking shop to Takeshi's appearance and Rubeus' betrayal. Just thinking about it was causing Darien to seethe with unprecedented rage. It wasn't the fact that Rubeus didn't trust his judgment or skill that made him angry but instead that he went back on his word. He was always someone who held promises sacred; liars deemed snakes in his jurisdiction. It was unfortunate but Darien would just have to pay the newly inducted snake a little visit and convince him how capable he is in handling Crown on his own.

Takeshi was a whole other story. Being linked to Malachite, it was close to impossible to dispose of his nuisance. If he pulled the trigger on him in that alley a few hours back just as he was so tempted to do, Malachite would disappear and his chances at retribution would be gone. Darien had to get them both together in order for his plan to be truly successful.

No longer hearing the soft hum of the coffee machine, Darien got up and poured its piping hot contents into a mug. It was strange. He was so enthusiastic at revenge yet for some reason he couldn't clearly remember the events that made him so angry to begin with. He remembered Malachite and Takeshi's involvement plain as day but circumstances were still hazy. Strangely enough, a lot of things were a little hazy now that he thought about it and the only source at filling in those elusive blanks resided in dreams.

RING! v_ibrate_ RING! _vibrate_

Darien rubbed at his eyes before distracting his attention away from his inquiries to his cell phone in the living room. Sighing and even a feeling the uncharacteristic weight of laziness, he reluctantly arose and made his way towards the plastic nuisance. Looking down, he flipped the phone open and declared, "This had better be good."

Blue eyes narrowed immediately as dark eyebrows kneaded together in confusion. Letting the voice on the other end finish, he responded, "I'll be around at 7:30."

He shut the phone without any further commentary and curiously stared down at the device. What was that all about? Nodding off slightly, he shook his head and began walking towards the bathroom. Darien couldn't recall hearing Jadeite's voice ever sound anything remotely resembling urgent. This was going to be serious and for some reason, he couldn't shake the all too familiar instinct which became livid only in situations ending very badly.

* * *

Emerald reclined back in her husband's chair as she continued focusing her eyes on the ceiling tiles above.

"_35…36…37…38…_"

Huffing and puffing, the well-to-do woman sat upright and placed her delicate chin on the palm of her hand. Rubeus always did this to her. He would specify a time for a meeting and either not even bother to show or just be ridiculously late. Emerald would furiously point out his error, expecting an apology, but instead he would just come on to her. She sighed and realized that she should really stop falling for his charm if she was ever expecting to be taken seriously.

Rolling her beautiful green eyes, she looked down at her wandering fingers and realized their location. This was a very dangerous situation. As she trailed her finger tips along the smooth metal surface of Rubeus' desk drawer, Emerald felt the ecstasy of curiosity overtake her. It was at the moment when her feline weakness peaked that she recalled her husband and unsympathetic boss' exact warnings where rooting through his personal belongings were concerned. Usually the subordinate kept her distance for her own safety but today was different. Rubeus couldn't expect her to sit somewhere for very long without letting her flaws get the best of her.

Plus, it would be a lesson learned. Today, Emerald DelGrassi would get her cake and eat it too.

Smiling, Emerald removed a spare bobby pin from her neatly gathered coif and began tampering with the lock. If she knew Rubeus, he would guard his information with state of the art locks. Ironically, being in her position, he had taught her how to unlock such security for future benefit. She wondered what he would do when he realized her education was for _her_ own future benefit.

Inserting the pin into the slit, she instinctively moved the thin device to the left than right. Emerald bit her lower lip while make another more sharper right and hearing a desirable click of access. Her smiled grew broader as she slipped the pin back in her hair where it belonged and pulled back the drawer to gaze upon a bushel of otherwise unobtainable information.

It was all here, neatly arranged in manila folders, everything and anything having to do with _Kagen Corps._ Blueprints of the perimeter, employee data, passwords, and departments were all piled on top of each other, without a doubt due to Rubeus' compulsive disorder, alphabetically. Searching through, Emerald gathered up the employee data file and pulled it out of the stack. She wanted to know what Darien was up to. The devious mongol's wife smirked. Actually, that was a lie. All she wanted was to get the dirt on Darien, good intentions be damned.

Fingering through, the thick contents, she lightly repeated Chiba to herself as she passed Baker and Brickman. Flipping through four more employees, Emerald finally reached the location where Darien should have been but was surprised that his file was abnormal. Instead of a normal record with listed attributes along with positives and negatives, there was a stamped sheet with his picture and identification on it.

_ADAM AND EVE PROJECT – PARSON CONTINIUATION_

She stared at the red lettering for the longest time. Where had she heard the name Parson before? She remembered the name either from a conversation or reading it from somewhere. But where? Closing the file, Emerald went back into the drawer, placed the folder back with the rest of its own kind, and began digging for another. Ransacking the immaculate organization, alert eyes zeroed in on a white envelope entitled ADAM AND EVE – PARSON.

She looked up at the door, perspiration of both anxiety and anticipation building slowly at her hairline, before grabbing the desired file and yanking it free from captivity. Slender fingers undid the clip and slid a thin, average looking manila folder out from the tight quarters. It was bad enough that she had gone through Rubeus' desk when he specifically ordered her not to, but Emerald was now crossing the line of harmless fun. If she looked at this information, she would be caught up in something she may have never wanted to be involved in to begin with. There was still a chance to turn back, to pretend she had never even opened the desk to begin with.

Who was she kidding? She was screwed.

Emerald opened the file and read _Parson's Institution of Biogentics._ Ignoring the chicken scratch, which most likely explained much of this company's structure and what the ADAM AND EVE project was, she flipped the page over and instantly noticed a picture of a young girl followed by a photograph of a young woman of no more than twenty. Obviously, judging by several more than coincidental similarities one could assume they were the same person. But what really caught the spy's eye was the stamped DECEASED across her information.

Turning the page, Emerald noticed in the exact set up of the previous subject the picture of a young boy, a young man, and the dreaded DECEASED across his own information. She shuddered and almost feared turning the page. What was going on? Why did Rubeus have this in his possession? This had to be more than just a mere file of his. Not when a biogenetic company's name was stamped on it.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued her search and found after four turns more deceases. It wasn't until she came across the name Andrew Crown that information was untainted with the blemish of DECEASE. Realization dawned on her as her insides knotted up in dismay. Emerald turned one more page and placed her hand over her mouth. In the all too tedious fashion of before and after shots, she took in the sight of her fellow employee and ex-lover. The first picture revealed a scowling, scrawny looking teenager with bags under his large baby blues and a sickly pallor of one who hasn't eaten for weeks. Her eyes darted to the side and tired to read the handwriting associated with the picture.

_Day 1 - Subject's organism appears to reject treatment…Over time, distribution of new antibodies through injection into the subject's spinal cord resulted in minor damage to the amygdala. In turn, the subject suffers from drastic mood swings and emotional disorders – further testing diagnoses Antisocial personality disorder…Subject is prone to fits of narcolepsy during trials of extreme stress, could be possible side effect of injection but also could be defense mechanism to handling overbearing situations. Further studies and research shows sexual abuse in the subject's history disproving hypothesis of narcolepsy linked to antibody side effects…Day 3 – Subject is now responding to treatment…Slight increase in intelligence, strength, and stamina – promising…A year into the study, the subject has shown negative progress in reconstructing his DNA. He shows signs of dangerously aggressive behavior, neurological disorders, and is being transferred back to base… FAILED_

"Is my wife in my office?"

Emerald's face shot up from her reading to the office door. As if a fire has blazed to life within her, she shut the file closed, shoved it back in the drawer, and tried her best to organize everything as it once was. Cursing under her breath, she noticed the doorknob turn before shutting the desk and standing up with her hands on her hips.

"What the hell, Rubeus? I've been waiting here for hours!"

"You've only been here for twenty minutes."

Emerald flopped back on the seat, coyly closing the drawer completely, while complaining in an irritated fashion, "I'm tired of constantly waiting around. When you tell me two o'clock, be here at two o' clock. Treat me like a co-worker, not a weepy, submissive wife. That's all I ask."

"My mistake, darling, you are woman, I hear you roar," Rubeus declared with a devilish smirk before walking towards the desk, leaning forward on it, and staring down at his vixen of a 'co-worker,' "What, may I ask, is your view on interpersonal relations in the workplace?"

"Why don't you come over here and find out, boss."

The red head's smirk turned into a devious smile as he made his way around the desk and to his seductive spouse. Grabbing her wrist and tearing her out of the chair, Rubeus pulled her roughly against him and passionately kissed her without any discrepancy or afterthought of injuring her. After years of marriage, he knew she didn't bruise easy.

Emerald leaned back on the desk and wrapped her legs tightly around Rubeus' hips. Even though her hormones got the best of her, she couldn't help but look back down at the desk drawer. She knew she shouldn't have looked in the folder because now the curious cat was a part of this unidentified project. There was no turning back from this road she had put herself on.

_Darien was a tool. If everything in the file was accurate, it definitely justified some of the guy's behavior. But if he was a failed experiment, what was he still doing at Kagen? Was he even meant to attain a position in this company or was he here solely for scientific purposes? It made sense now since her husband would never hire someone so unprepared. Sure, he picked minors but they had to have once in their prepubescent lives held a gun. In the end, it didn't matter because whatever the answers were, he was in big trouble. And for some strange reason; she started wondering if he was only kept for Rubeus to eventually dispose of._

The untrained investigator sighed against her husband's mouth. The future had never looked so bleak.

* * *

The streets seemed lonelier, the city smaller, now that he was a wanted criminal. Seiya continued to walk down the deserted alley, hands crammed deep into his pockets, as he contemplated the select places he could take temporary refuge in. He was more than tempted to call Shawn, or even his other band mates, but knew the risk was far too great to take. There was a strong possibility that the cops had already gotten to them anyway. As a celebrity, acquaintances were posted all over tabloids and therefore attempting any kind of contact would be debilitating.

Groaning, Seiya temporarily put a halt to his travels, threw his bag down on the ground, and sat on it. He instantly basked in the pleasure of giving his feet the break they deserved after hours of continuous movement. Placing his face in his hands, the young musician shut his eyes and allowed himself the brief satisfaction of flashing back to simpler times. Seiya felt his heart pound quicker and lungs protesting activity as memories of his brother surfaced.

Darien had been a better sibling than older brothers were known for being. Actually, to be blatantly honest, he had been the best sibling. Darien constantly paid attention to him, knew when something was wrong and insisted on fixing it, played with him when he got bored, and most importantly of all gave him affection to the best of his ability. Seiya especially remembered during thunderstorms how Darien would sit by his bed and play their father's song in order to soothe him. He wondered if he still played the violin.

Frowning, he removed his hands from his face and opened tired eyes reluctantly. If Darien hadn't destroyed their home, killed their mother, and ditched him, Seiya would know the answer to the answer to that question. If Darien hadn't done those atrocious things, he would have been well adjusted. He began fantasizing about a life outside of his lecherous, drug addictive, destructive ways. The picturesque alternative reality caused him to lean his head back and smile.

"Hey you, stay right where you are and put your hands where I can see them!"

Seiya's blood ran cold as his eyes slowly opened and focused on a blue uniform and pistol aimed directly at his head. This was the end of the line for him, game over. How did this happen? A day hasn't even gone by since his faceless tryst's brutal murder and Seiya had already managed to get himself caught. Some drifter he was.

"Seiya Kou, you are under arrest for the murder of Molly D'aubigne. I suggest you come with me quietly because if you make one move, I will not hesitate to shoot!"

"I didn't kill her," Seiya explained with his hands still raised obediently above his head, "You have to believe me. You've got the wrong guy!"

"Tell it to the inspector. Whether you're guilty or not, she still wants to ask you a couple of questions, Mr. Kou."

"That's bullshit! You just want someone to arrest," Seiya shouted as he got up on his feet, hands still over his head, and took a single step forward.

"What did I tell you? Stay right where you are!

The officer cocked his weapon and aimed it right between the wanted man's eyes. Perspiration beaded at his forehead while his hands shook indicating his obvious discomfort with the situation. If he took him in the station, alive, he would be a hero. His wife would be proud, his teenage children would actually want to bother with him, and all his co-workers would treat him with unfathomable respect. A smile spread across the law enforcer's face as his hands suddenly became still with resolve.

Seiya closed his eyes and felt his captor approach him carefully. He couldn't let himself get canned. Questioning was a meager lure to make the accused believe there was still hope for release. Seiya knew better. The girl was killed in _his_ room by men, he was more than sure were undetected by other visitors, who just so happened to be part of an elite syndicate. The identity of the real killer would never be revealed and he would be left in a jail cell to rot away for the rest of his life. That, or be put to death.

"You have to believe me, man! I didn't do anything! Why don't you fucking believe me?" Seiya screamed. The hunter slightly backed away from the volatile prey in alert but still kept his weapon raised. The tremble in his trigger hand returned.

"Believe you? A young girl was murdered in YOUR hotel room with no other suspects present and to make matters all the more suspicious when we came around, you were nowhere to be found. How does that sound to you, Mr. Kou?"

The dark haired youngster stomped his foot in frustration and barked, "What the hell was I supposed to do? The police don't give a shit about who they arrest! If the description matches and there was ties with the victim, it didn't matter if he was miles away from the crime scene with the perfect alibi you guys would still arrest him."

"Shut up! You're in no place to criticize us, murderer."

Seiya felt his anger peak. He couldn't let it end like this. He couldn't go to prison, not yet; he still had much to do. No matter how bitter he was at his brother he still wanted to see him again. No matter how impossible he said it was to carry a relationship with Mina in these circumstances, he still wanted to be with her. After all he's been through, Seiya firmly believed he was entitled to a second chance. Today, he would take it.

Feeling the cop's hand on his wrist, Seiya instinctively elbowed him as hard as he could in the gut. Puffs of warm breath hit his neck in divided increments giving him enough of a chance to knee him across the face. He watched as the hunter turned prey dropped to the floor like a swatted fly. This slight motion caused him to remember the days he spent at the orphanage. He remembered how the other kids would blame him if anything broke or was misplaced. He remembered specifically one of the curators, a man who the other children deemed 'the punisher,' who would take him to an empty room, close the door, beat him, and sometimes, when his breath reeked of stale alcohol, do much more scarring things.

He rubbed at pulsating temples as tears prickled at his eyes unsympathetically. Seiya had wanted to kill that bastard for all his unforgivable acts. That feeling had been so overbearing and haunting that one night, the foul stench of brandy polluting the air, Seiya Kou had grabbed 'the punisher's' Smith and Wesson, put it up to his head, and fired. He remembered the surprise in his eyes before the two hundred and ten pound corpse collapsed on his much smaller frame. He remembered the smell of gunpowder mixed with blood and the retching sensation at the back of his throat. And most of all, in those fifteen minutes, he remembered how it finally felt to be free. That was the night he left the orphanage; the night where everything changed.

Rubbing at his eyes, the skinny teenager picked up his bag and was prepared to make an escape until the officer tackled him to the floor. Seiya's eyes widened as he watched blood trail from the corner of a sneering mouth and onto his own face. He groaned softly after a meaty fist tightened and hit his face at maximum capacity. The action reciprocated continuously until the youngster lost count.

"You fucking asshole," he screamed as he landed another punch across the suspect's jaw. He could no longer distinguish the crimson shade of blood shed as the world around him and its color spectrum transfigured into that exact color of red. Anger mutilated all compassion which caused the cop to reach for his nightstick.

Seiya willed his brain to shut down. It had been a defense mechanism he had picked up to avoid prolonged sensations of excruciating pain. The numbness was short lived but it kept him conscience and slightly boosted his tolerance. He watched as the stick slammed down against his chest before hearing the dreaded cracking sound of serious injury.

"You like this, don't you, you prick! You love it!"

"_Stop crying. You like it. I know you do."_

He stared up, unblinking, at his aggressor. He was frozen yet his mind was working in ways his body could not handle. He wouldn't let it happen again. Seiya wasn't a child anymore; he wouldn't let anybody have the satisfaction of forcing him to submit. He would fight and would emerge victorious.

Seiya broke free from the grip and slammed his knee up where it connected with the older man's crotch. Gaining a much desired yelp, he hit the man in the throat which caused him to fall backwards in agony. He scurried towards his bag as fast as the injuries he sustained would allow him but was intercepted by a yank at his ankle. Seiya fell to the floor at full velocity causing him to hiss.

"I had enough!"

He reached for the gun on the floor, cocked it once again, and forced the metal barrel into the celebrity's mouth. Seiya's pupil enlarged and almost seemed to completely override the brown of his eyes. Images of his past, present, and soon to be unlived future flashed before him like a hay wiring movie reel. He didn't scream but instead indifferently glared into his potential murderer's eyes.

"Look at you. You're not scared or angry. You don't feel anything which is why I'd be doing society a favor by putting you out of your misery."

Before the trigger could be pulled, a rustling from behind caused the gunman to spin around in nervous anxiety. Seiya used this opportunity to open his mouth as wide as he could and hit opposing arms as in order to dislodge the gun without losing any teeth. Turning back, the man in blue aimed once again yet failed to make his target due to a pair of feet colliding into his chest and propelling him backwards. The gun dropped to the floor and away from the cop.

Seiya instantly leapt into action, picked it up, and aimed. Hands shaking and blood seeping from his pores, he kept it leveled. He just wanted to get out of this alive and liberated. He didn't want to kill anyone; all he wanted was to get his point across that he wasn't going anywhere with bars or limited travel space.

"You kill me kid and your life is over. If you didn't kill that girl, there's a possibility to be free but if you pull that trigger, you're as good as dead. Mark my words."

"If I didn't get this gun when I did, I would have been as good as dead anyway so

what's the difference?"

The man slowly began to stand up, hands raised, with a look of regret etched on his face, "Look, I was wrong okay? I was angry. I'm sure you can sympathize."

"Yeah, I can sympathize because I'm pretty fucking angry right now!"

"I'm sorry. Just give me the gun and we can forget this whole thing ever happened. I won't even put it on your record. It'll be our little secret."

"No."

He stood deathly still with a look of silent realization on his face. Tears beginning to form in his eyes, the officer asked, "So you're going to kill me?"

"Stay where you are, keep your mouth shut, and I'll let you live," Seiya ordered while backing up, one hand on the trigger the other on his temporarily crippled side, and proceeding to gather his belongings on the floor. His eyes remained glued on the cop like a vigilant hawk.

"How old are you? You don't look any older than twenty, kid. People your age make a lot of mistakes so it's only a matter of time before you get caught. Why don't you make it easier and turn yourself in?"

The more childlike of the two chuckled and put a cigarette to his lips before muttering, "Funny. Kids are so popularly the ones who make mistakes yet this kid is the one with the upper hand advantage. Go figure."

"It's only a matter of time before you slip up. We can help you."

"Shut up. You're starting to bother me."

Hoisting the bag on his shoulder, he grimaced and made the mistake of slightly lowering the gun due to poor judgment the pain was responsible for inducing. The officer noticed the disability and took the rare opportunity to jump into action. He tackled Seiya to the ground and instantly started working the gun from his grip.

Fear overcame Seiya as he fought against the stronger man's hold. With a scream, he closed his eyes, took his chance, and fired the gun. Time froze abnormally still until he reopened his eyes and caught sight of the expression on his assailant's face. It was the same face his guardian made. The exact same face as the man he shot dead. The situation was so uncanny that it made him wonder if déjà vu was in effect.

Throwing the hemorrhaging body off of him, he backed up against the wall and curled his knees to his chest. The visual of the shaking body was more than he could handle. He buried his face into the palm of his hands after discarding the weapon in a gesture which would cause someone to believe it had burned him. Seiya desperately tried to alleviate the scent of gunpowder from his nostrils and banish the memories which ensued. He began to wish he hadn't put up a fight to survive.

"Plea…Please call an…ambulance…I'm….I'm…."

The officer didn't finish his sentence but instead started to sob and call out various names. Seiya put his hands over his ears and started to cry silently as well. He wanted to call an ambulance. Part of Seiya even wanted him to survive even though the guy had tried to kill him but he knew that if he did call for help, they wouldn't think twice about arresting him. Not only would he have the murder charge on his head but he would also be charged with aggravated assault of an officer. To make matters worse, there was a chance that he wouldn't even make it as far as the hospital. Then the charge would change from assault to a second count of murder.

Dark eyes widened in paralyzing fear as he got back up on his feet and began packing up. He couldn't believe he had waited around as long as he had. Before this cop came in to apprehend him, he probably called in for back up. There was a good chance they were surrounding the perimeter waiting for him to make a move.

Seiya panicked and instantly began running from the scene of the crime with screams of protest following him out. The policeman's head tilted back as his eyes glazed over in acceptance. Gathering up enough strength, he turned his gaze over and noticed the smoking pistol sitting by his side ready to prosecute.

_See kid. I told you it was only a matter of time before you slipped up._

* * *

"You haven't been practicing have you?"

Serena immediately stopped playing her piece and rubbed at the bridge of her delicate nose in frustration. Looking up with a small smile of acknowledgement, she asked, "Is it that obvious?"

Diamond chuckled before leaning against the piano and looking down upon his pupil. He loved when she wore her school uniform; it accentuated her innocence. Keeping the smile on his face, he explained, "You're usually very enthusiastic when it comes to Chopin. It's the best way for me to keep you practicing. But tonight, Chopin doesn't seem to be giving you sufficient motivation which makes me wonder if you even bothered to practice or if there's something on your mind."

She sighed, stood up from the instrument, and plopped down on the couch behind her. Playing with a stray strand of blonde, the pianist glanced up at the ceiling and said, "Andrew is leaving town for good and I'm not really sure if I'm all too happy about it."

"Oh…is that so?"

"I should be happy right? I mean, he caused me a lot of unnecessary stress," Serena proclaimed after getting up from her seat and slowly pacing, "But for some reason, I can't let go of him. He's always around even when he's not really around but I've never really experienced him being around knowing that he'll never be around again."

She chose that moment to take a visual of her 'ears' and laughed at the confusion, which warped his expression into one of comical proportions, spreading across her instructor and friend's face. Stepping forward and refusing to stop laughing, she put her arm around him before leaning her head against his shoulder, "Sorry. I didn't mean to Suess out on you. Since you're such a _genius_ behind the piano, I automatically began thinking universal genius which instinctively made me think PhD which in turn resulted in our shrink and free service debacle. My apologizes."

Diamond smiled softly at the fellow prodigy below him and unconsciously began to look down at her pink lips. He constantly wondered what it would be like to kiss her. Would she taste sweet like the delicious candy smell emitting from her body or would she be sinfully delectable like the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden? They parted slightly, almost inviting him to find out for himself. Leaning forward painfully with ease, he stopped before closing his eyes and banishing all distasteful thoughts with a force he never knew he possessed.

"I'll forgive you this once, next time, you owe me a lobster dinner."

"Lobster? Have I crossed the line from artistic into scientific that many times?"

"Yes, and you're very lucky I'm a forgiving person," Diamond snipped before leaning forward, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, and pushing himself away from her, "Now, back to Chopin. Julliard has no sympathy for little girls who destroy masterpieces."

The promising composer watched as the object of his affection stuck out her tongue and sat back down at the bench. The sudden separation from the warmth of her body caused his chest to constrict in regret. He had the opportunity and he refused to take it. His mind procured a visual when the sensation grew too overbearing which successfully exiled his disappointment and cured any resulting ailments. Serena was in a very vulnerable situation. If Diamond chose to make his move now, he would never see her again. That or she would purposely be a different version of the girl he loved in order to dispel his infatuation. He wouldn't…no couldn't have that so he reluctantly chose to wait.

"Where is Andrew planning to go? Is there a possibility for you to keep in touch?"

Large cerulean eyes moved from the sheet music to her comrade. She was surprised he even bothered to ask. Usually, Diamond would say or do just about anything to change the subject of conversation revolving around or relating to Andrew Crown. Then again, he was a friend. He was most likely just concerned.

"No. He's leaving for good. I'm meeting him on Saturday to say good-bye."

Diamond crossed his arms with a stoic expression which feigned any emotional discourse. Chiba was supposed to be on this case so why on earth was he giving the mark enough time to skip town. He snarled and clenched a fist. That bastard better do his job and do it right or so help him; he would have to leave the planet just to get within a safe distance of the repercussions which would follow.

"Are you okay, Diamond?"

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I just feel incredibly sympathetic to you and your son. That's all," Diamond lied with a suave and reassuring smile which proved to be the fruitful icing on the cake of deceit.

Serena smiled warmly before turning back around and beginning to play her piece once again but this time with a sound mind. Diamond on the other hand wasn't paying attention. He rubbed at his chin and raked a hand through light blonde locks of hair. It was a mistake to keep what information he knew from Rubeus. His brother, in the end, knew of his lack of participation; he had made that poignantly clear the other night in his office. But now, with Crown planning an escape, things were proving to be a little more congested than he could normally handle.

"You're doing great, Serena. Keep playing, I'm going to go get myself a drink."

He could have been dead, long gone, worm food right now but in an effort to protect Serena from a stray bullet he was up against the wall with no alternatives. He should have said something.

Diamond reached underneath the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch followed by a small brandy glass. He hated tight corners. Ever since he was a child, Diamond needed a fall back, a reassurance that everything would work out in the end even if Plan A failed. Right now, both plan A and plan B were down the crapper and flowing free with the other discarded plans amongst the tempestuous ocean waves. Plan C wasn't even a plan until now but surfaced as his only lifeline. Irony wasn't even the word to describe it.

Inhaling the warm bronze liquid like oxygen, he put the glass gently back down on the counter and leaned up against it for support. It was up to Darien now. He was the last chance he had in getting rid of the barrier between himself and Serena Tsukino. Once Andrew was gone, she would grieve, cry in Diamond's arms, and finally realize what she had been blinded to all along. She would be his at long last.

Diamond smiled at the nice dream playing in his overcrowded head. Pouring himself another glass of scotch, he listened to his muse play Chopin flawlessly with a hammering heart. They would have a beautiful life together; she just needed to see that that worthless waste of space was only holding her back.

"Diamond," Serena called out, "It's eight o'clock, I need to get going."

Quickly downing the remains of his drink, the tycoon exited the kitchen and made his way back into the den. With a smile, he leaned against the couch and stated, "You're doing marvelously. I don't want to jinx anything but you are a shoe in for Julliard. They're going to be blown away."

"You're way too flattering for a teacher," she mocked while putting her music in her backpack and gathering up her belongings, "I need a real pessimist if I want to get into a school like Julliard."

"You're enough of a pessimist for the both of us but if you want me to be firmer all I have to say is you slack off too much. You need to practice more. You've also got a heavy hand where the bass clef is concerned especially when the piece requires a more legato approach. Remember, you're a pianist, not a drummer."

"Excuse you, but my left hand is light as a feather. And just for future reference, I play legato, staccato, forte, accelerando, adagio, and crescendo flawlessly. I can rattle off many more tempos I rock at but my time's limited."

Diamond snickered and quirked an eyebrow, "You asked me to be pessimistic not honest."

"No, just be a teacher, not a friend. If I'm stinking, than tell my talent to take a bath. That's all I ask."

"Well, right now, you're talent's squeaky clean; Chopin reincarnated and I say that as a teacher, not a friend. Is that better?"

Serena smiled softly before beginning to make her way for the door, "I guess I'll see you next week. Oh, and to give you the luxury of saving your breath, I promise you that this time around I will practice so, and I quote, all my musical predecessors won't roll over in their graves when I butcher their masterpiece. Happy?"

Diamond was quiet as he watched the lighthearted blonde sashay towards the door. Without thinking he stepped forward, hand outstretched, and called, "Serena?"

"Hm?" she responded after turning around from her exit route and staring questionably at the older man.

"Uh, it's nothing. I'll see you next week."

Serena didn't seem to be appeased with the aversion but nonetheless smiled, nodded, and left. He was once again alone with the seething his regret bestowed. But this time was slightly different. Diamond's heart wasn't as heavy as it normally was when his student left but instead hopeful that soon everything would be better. Soon, his brooding, pining, and suffering would be rewarded with the one thing he wanted most.

Soon they would have a beautiful life together.

* * *

Darien pulled up the narrow driveway and into an alleyway located directly across the street from Jadeite's residence. With expert precision, he parked his bike close enough against the wall to assure protection from oncoming traffic but far enough not to scratch the body work. It took a year on this bike to gain enough perception not to completely annihilate this vehicle.

Removing the key from the ignition, he simply sat back and watched the isolated street in peace. In a way, he was almost afraid to get off his bike. At this very moment, considering the possibility of groundbreaking news, this bike represented a safe haven. It seemed to promise shelter just as long as the rider did not get off. Ironically, this "safe haven" was solely responsible for millions of deaths annually and deemed one of the deadliest vehicles on the road.

Sweeping a single leg over the seat, Darien pulled out a cigarette and blazed it to life with the assistance of a dinky dollar store lighter. The street lights provided no illumination into the alley causing the darkness to reign supreme in the alleyway. He didn't mind. Darien enjoyed the darkness; it was much more forgiving than the light.

He hungrily inhaled the smoke and rolled his eyes at his own cowardice. Rolling the butt in between two callused fingers, Darien flicked the cigarette against the wall and began to make his way out of his pitch black, claustrophobic hideaway. It was ridiculous to be frightened of something that wasn't even a present threat.

Darien jogged across the street, took the stairs two at a time, and knocked at Jadeite's door. Tapping his foot, he shoved his hands into his pockets and took in every nook and cranny of his comrade's neighborhood. It was funny. He had been a constant visitor for ten years yet everything time he bothered to look; there was always something new to look at.

Hearing the sound of a door creaking open, the handsome Kagen employee turned around with a trademark grin. It wasn't long before the slight joy in Darien's features dissipated into mild confusion. Noticing the tall Frenchman immediately step aside, he entered the house without a single word. By the look on Jadeite's face, he should have stayed out on his motorcycle a couple of minutes longer.

Keeping the silence alive, Darien bent over and began to remove a set of two throwing knives attached to his right leg. Whenever he left home without his gun, which was typically a rare occasion, he in turn chose to bring a knife with him instead. Firearm or none, he still had to be packing some form of self defense and even though he trusted his fists, sometimes they just weren't enough.

"Don't bother. Just go on in."

His hand froze at mid-strap as he stared strangely at Jadeite. He always, ever since he could remember, had a strict no weapons policy when it came to his quarters. Hearing those words were the equivalency of looking God directly in the face; it just didn't happen unless you were willing to face the consequences. He pulled his pant leg back down and asked, "When the hell did you lift your hippie ban on weapons?"

"My cousin was murdered early this morning. I'd rather waste the time you would've spent unloading on more pressing matters."

Darien opened his mouth and instantly closed it. He was never good at these things and refused to use the dreaded, "I'm sorry" due to his absolute abhorrence of the phrase. When people used that line, it showed a lack of effort and seemed to almost invite blame. Plus, it sounded a little too detached. Silence, in these circumstances, spoke much higher volumes.

"What do you need?"

Jadeite briefly smiled and led his guest into the den before pointing him towards one of the three couches. The fair blonde moved towards the bar and poured two glasses of his finest whiskey while stating, "The reason I called you out here today was because I was hoping you would lend me your assistance."

He handed the darker man his glass before retreating to an open seat directly across from him. Jadeite glanced down at the bronze liquid and carefully swirled it around within the slim confines of the expensive crystal china. He eyes unconsciously studied the amount of times the fluid lost control and splashed up the sides. Seemingly growing bored with his observation; Jadeite drank his alcohol down in one shot and watched as his visitor did the same.

"I have to finish up my assignment with Rubeus but once that's out of my way, we can make arrangements."

The older of the two nodded in understanding as he got back up on his feet to pour Darien and himself another drink. Darien, in turn, proceeded to light up a second cigarette. This turn of events was unexpected but not anything to be leery of. He rolled his eyes once again at the foolish overreaction.

Jadeite repeated his previous gesture and handed back the glass to its temporary owner before beginning to brief his soon to be employee, "I don't know too much on the case, I just found out about this myself not too long ago, but what I do know is that her body was discovered in a ritzy hotel in Shinjuku. I also know the identity of the murderer so research this time around is going to be a breeze."

Darien watched as a pale hand gripped onto the delicate glass in a hold which predicted impending doom for the unsuspecting object. Taking a sip of the warm booze, he chased it with a drag from his cigarette while patiently waiting for Jadeite to continue.

"I would save you the trouble and ask one of my contacts to do it but I doubt they would want to risk exposure; this guy being a celebrity and all."

He leaned forward, suddenly very interested, and narrowed his eyes on the loquacious man before him, "Celebrity?"

Jadeite chuckled bitterly as he took another shot. Snaking his hand into his pants pocket, he excavated a moderately sized packet and removed a cigarette of his own from captivity. Expertly maneuvering the slender stick between his agile fingers, he declared, "You can imagine my surprise when I heard that one. It seems like my dearly departed cousin only went to bed with the finest piece of meat. Also seems like she has a thing for guys with guitar straps. The twat was a musician."

The gnawing feeling of anxiety and fear relapsed at the pit of his stomach. Inhaling more of his dwindling cigarette, Darien sunk back against the couch cushions and rubbed at his mouth while allowing warm, tobacco scented fingers to linger along the small rigid crevices of chapped lips. He didn't want to hear who it was; he didn't even want to hear anything as vague as a hint.

"Not to sound melodramatic but I should have been more involved in her life. If I was, maybe this wouldn't have even happen," Jadeite reflected in self loathing. He took a brief drag from his cigarette as a twitch in his hand caused Darien to lower his head in realization. Like **Nostradamus** in the aftermath of a catastrophe, he dully watched as Jadeite wound up and sent the glass sailing against the wall.

Darien didn't bother to turn around and survey the damage. He simply sat still and stared at his distraught informant. He had never seen him so emotional and bearing witness to this disastrous rapture caused the weight in Darien's stomach to cave in. With a lack of resolve, Darien audibly mumbled, "Who did it?"

Jadeite ran a hand through waves of wheat and coolly responded, "Seiya Kou. He's The Three Starlight's lead singer."

He closed his eyes and absently rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He knew it. It was an unshakeable feeling that screamed bad Feng Shui and usually when this feeling surfaced, it refused to be ignored. Darien finally came to the sad realization that his birth was solely intended for a laugh amongst the sadistic members of the local sewing circle.

"I can't do it."

Jadeite stopped pacing and stared in disbelief at Darien, "What?"

Opening his eyes and standing up, he looked his mentor directly in the eyes and replied, "I can't kill him."

Flames ignited behind beautiful water-like eyes and burned through to the core. Jadeite's blood boiled; the unnaturally rosy tint of his skin a testament to his fury. Breathing in sharply, he glared at Darien and proclaimed, "After everything I've done for you, you have the balls to refuse the only request I've ever asked of you…"

"He's my brother."

The room was polluted with the uncomfortable residue of awkward silence. Feeling his body sway slightly, the confessor encountered two Jadeites standing before him. The two blondes stood, equal expressions of scorn on their faces, with an air between them which almost appeared to mock his lapse in sanity. He rubbed at his eyes and once he opened them, Darien was left alone with the original lonely version; a version which was rewarded with a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, even though his senses returned, it did nothing to dispel the ache viciously pulsating at his temples.

"Okay, Darien, if you can't kill him than I'll just find someone else who can."

"Fine, that's your prerogative but just to let you know that I'm going to do whatever it takes to ensure his safety. Everything, even if that means slaughtering anyone that poses a threat or takes a suspicious step in my direction."

"Are you waging war, Chiba, because I highly doubt you know what you're up against."

Darien kept the frown on his face, refusing to verbally agree but nonetheless still confirming Jadeite's accusation. He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray sitting ignored on the center of the equally barren coffee table. He never thought this day would come but there was no use debating the circumstance or wondering if there was anything that could have been done to prevent it. This was war and a preoccupied mind would leave him handicapped.

"You're way out of your league, kid," Jadeite spat coldly.

"Generals lose wars because they underestimate their enemies. If you want to underestimate me, you've got my blessing, but no suicide threats when you're staring defeat in the face."

He allowed a small smile to spread across his angular face. This was the end of their partnership and Jadeite began to realize it was only a matter of time before this long and winding road came to an end. He had taught Darien all he could without stripping him of his identity after all there were certain things he needed to find out for himself. The investigator was aware of their eventual departure but the reason for its arrival was an unexpected twist.

"This is it; you're sure this is your decision?"

"Yes."

"Then get out of my sight," the blonde declared face to face with his pupil, "Don't come back here again. We're finished."

Darien didn't say another word as he walked past Jadeite, towards the greeting room, and out the door. He stood out on Jadeite's doorstep for a few minutes as the realization of what had just occurred finally dawned on him. They were done; a partnership that had lasted for ten years completely destroyed in a matter of minutes. The propensity of this new turn of events made him look up at the sky and wonder what he had just done. Darien just waged war on one of Japan's biggest yakuza entrepreneurs and to make matters worse, how could he protect someone he didn't even have an exact location for.

Stepping forward and beginning his decent, the throbbing pain in his head persuaded him to walk tonight and pick up his bike in the morning. He had been looking for Seiya for years. Considering the kid never stayed in one place for too long and his celebrity status, comparing him to a needle in a haystack was an understatement. Now that he was on the run for a murder rap, he might as well be on another planet.

Darien stopped as the street started to sway back and forth. Placing his hand up to his forehead, he forced his way forward. Not now he urged himself. He began to find it harder to walk; the solid cement on the pavement seemed to liquefy and fuse his foot into the expanding grey superglue. His eyes grew heavier until he couldn't keep them open any longer. With his defenses down, he ran directly into an oncoming individual.

"You know, we have to stop meeting like this."

Cloudy blue eyes obligated themselves to open and took in the sight of a familiar round face framed by a blonde halo. He smirked in acknowledgement before dropping unconscious into her arms.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**Alea iacta est**

"_The die has been cast"_

-

Darien darted up and desperately tried to synchronize erratic breaths with his thundering heart.

His eyes snapped open to the blinding sunlight which provided visual aid to a foreign location. Darien was covered in a cold sweat and as he unconsciously shivered, the realist rested his moist forehead against the palm of his hand. Compared to the hot perspiration trailing along the smooth tan skin of his face; his hand felt as though it possessed within it the relieving sensation of a cold winter morning. The matted strands of Darien's disheveled hair stuck to the back of his neck while two lonely beads of sweat slid down his taut back. Even with the appearance of an overheated physique, he still trembled from the inside out.

"I never took you for the tattooed type."

Darien's heart jumped up into his throat as the thin hairs on his arms stood erect at the sound of an unpleasantly familiar source. Menacing eyes shifted slowly to the side and took in the vision of Irene Chiba, his very own personal goddess of destruction. He couldn't speak but the overwhelming rage within screamed volumes. Subconsciously, Darien envisioned himself reaching out and choking his aunt until she was pale and stiff. Such a euphoric fantasy did nothing to inspire reality; he merely sat and stared.

She smiled and declared, "When you were a baby, I couldn't even leave your side at the doctor's office or you would throw a fit. Oh, and if a shot was even mentioned, forget it, you would try and high tail it out of there which is exactly why the tattoo surprised me."

The sound of his laughter caused his eye to twitch in irritation as his teeth ground together. Shoving the blankets forcefully to the floor, Darien practically catapulted out of bed. Unlike a normal person, he didn't even want to know how he had gotten to this room or why he was in the presence of something unholy. But then again, Darien had begun to accept that he was far from normal. He was an animal; an animal who wanted to flee the location which housed and encouraged such a heinous laugh.

"Darien, wait," Irene exclaimed before reaching out and gently laying her hand on her nephew's bare back. Her heart was crushed when he recoiled from a touch which only meant to promise comfort and support. She had almost forgotten that every touch to him had the same nasty intention. There was no love, only domination.

"Don't touch me," Darien barked with fire in his eyes, "Don't ever put your hands on me again or I'll cripple you."

The sneer on his face and violent remark caused Irene to cradle her hand close to her chest in a gesture which suggested it had been badly burned. Tears welled up in her eyes after comparing the boy she had once held in her arms to the man before her. It was as if this stranger had swallowed and devoured her nephew taking only physical traits to fool the world into thinking he was truly Darien Chiba. Irene wanted to tear apart this intruder and liberate the real Darien; the one who had never tarnished or mutated into a vessel which lacked humanity.

"And to answer your question," Darien mumbled, his back still facing his aunt before casting a side glance at the intricate tattoo which covered a large portion of the middle of his upper back while trailing into his right shoulder blade, "I'm not sporting this as a fashion statement. Because you couldn't keep your mouth shut and told my father the truth everything downward spiraled. Your sister went nuts and I eventually ended up somewhere far worse than the hell I was spawned into. Thanks for that by the way."

"You know, I think about that constantly. I wonder what would have happened if I never told your father," Irene whispered as she banished the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, "I wonder if things would have been a little better. At least you would have had your father."

Darien slipped his shirt on over his head and closed his eyes. For the longest time, he had wanted to hate his father for abandoning him when he needed him most. But the second those feelings surfaced, the moment resent seeped through his pores and into his system, he began to feel guilty and eventually that guilt had manifested into blame. Deep inside, Darien had convinced himself that he had truly betrayed his father just as he had said and that had been reason he left. He would carry that to his grave; one of the many grievances he was obligated to bear.

"I don't want to talk about him."

"I know you must hate your father but I think you should…"

"I don't hate him! Just drop it! I don't want to talk about him."

Irene stepped forward and reached out but realization dawned on her effort with a dark ominous cloud ruining hopes of reconciliation. She instinctively pulled her hand back while standing in complete silence. After all this time, after spending countless nights wide awake and wondering where and how he was, she didn't have a single thing to say to him. She wanted to scream.

"I'm leaving," Darien declared. He began to walk past the completive woman but was taken aback by the brash action of her throwing herself in front of his path. Quirking an eyebrow up inquisitively, he tried to side step her only to have Irene mimic his movements. The curiosity turned into full blown animosity.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not letting you go," she cried with arms in outstretched, barricade position, "We have to talk and we have to talk now."

Indifferently, the younger yet much taller individual stated, "We've got nothing to talk about."

"Yes we do! We have a lot to discuss and I have so much to tell you. I'm not moving until we have this conversation. I don't care what you do to me but I will not let you leave!"

"What? You only have this much passion and character when you want to be a nuisance."

"I changed a lot since you were a child…"

"No matter how many times a zebra tries to convince itself it's a lion; it's still a zebra. Their stripes won't go away just because they will it so."

"…I had a lot of time to think and I know I was wrong…"

Darien chuckled and clapped his hands before leering sardonically at his rambling aunt, "I don't care. It's too late and you're barking up the wrong tree."

"It isn't too late. It's never too late to make amends. There was a time when I thought there wasn't anything I could do for you."

"And you were right."

"No, I was wrong and so are you for agreeing," Irene shouted with a new resolve that astounded Darien into silent observation, "I want to change so much but I realize that I can't change the past, only salvage the future."

The jaded man stepped forward and glared down at the orator with mocking eyes. Clicking his tongue, he retorted in a calm and even tone, "You had a chance to salvage the future by keeping Seiya in your care. That was your chance and you failed."

"No, I didn't! Serena's best friend is Mina James, the actress."

"So?"

She rolled her eyes and proclaimed, "Have you been living in a hole all these years? Mina James is Seiya's girlfriend. We can get Seiya through Mina. There's still a chance. I've been thinking about it since I found out but every time I was tempted to step up and do something, I kept thinking about Serena and the fact that I would have to tell her about my past. I was ashamed and when she got pregnant, I abandoned my plan all together."

Darien chortled and crossed his arms, "Good old dependable Aunt Irene, always thinking about the well being of others over her own selfish desires."

"I can give you his whereabouts. Ever since that night, I've been thinking of what I can do to make up for past mistakes. This is what I wanted to tell you. You can finally see your brother again."

He inhaled sharply. He had believed it was over, that there was no way to salvage Seiya's life. When it came to a battle of the wits and brawn, the brutal Darien Chiba would reign victorious. But this was a game of hide and seek and Darien was going up against the king of seek. With all of Jadeite's contacts, he wouldn't even have an opportunity to get a clue before the Frenchman found and skewered his brother.

"Where can I find him?"

Irene nodded and lowered her arms, "I would have to talk to Serena first to see if she can reach Mina."

Darien wondered how Serena would react if she found out the truth. Would she be disgusted? Sympathetic? Maybe even indifferent to the whole situation. It didn't matter much; his contract was almost finished and he wouldn't need her anymore. She had served her purposed and when he received the necessary information on Seiya, it would be sayonara for good. It was fun while it lasted.

"I need it as soon as possible. I can't be waiting around while you take your sweet time getting it," he spat out venomously. It sounded much more frigid than he originally intended but Darien was sure it only insured the point to be driven home. Right now, he couldn't concern himself with hurt feelings.

Irene nodded and remained painfully still for a moment. Her eyes were glued to the floor as if she was thinking long and hard about something. Whether or not the thought was important was beyond Darien but he understood it was necessary to get out in the open nonetheless.

"What?"

Large blue eyes which matched her guest's identically stared up at the calm and collected face of her nephew. Sighing, she raked a hand through her long dark mane nervously and stated, "If I get you Seiya's information, I don't want Serena involved. She's leaving for Julliard soon and she gets too emotionally attached to people, I just don't want…"

"Relax," Darien interrupted, rather annoyed at the unwelcomed intrusion, "When your pride and joy goes off to Julliard, I promise you she'll still be wet behind the ears. The faster you get me Seiya's information, the more distant of a memory I'll be."

"I didn't mean it like that…"

"It doesn't matter how you meant it. What I say still goes so get me my brother's location and you won't have to worry about me corrupting your daughter," he forwardly explained. With a cunning smirk, the devious wolf leaned back against the closest wall and crossed his arms, "Or maybe it would be better for me to show Serena the ropes. New York's a fast city so if I teach her a thing or two, I might be doing her more of a favor than staying away."

The protective mother's eyes widened in shock at her blood's lewd comment and almost boiled over. Stepping forward threateningly, Irene proclaimed, "You wouldn't dare…"

Darien rolled his eyes, "Of course I would. But I'll play by the rules as long as you stick to getting me what I want."

Irene smirked and almost instantaneously, the twenty-five year old man before her transformed into the fresh mouthed little seven year old she was accustomed to. He wasn't a total shell of his former self, there were still some traits which distinguished the dark hair, light eyed boy the 'alien' she had deemed at birth. There was still a glimmer of hope at salvaging their damaged relationship.

"I'll drop by again in a couple of days," the Kagen employee curtly replied before proceeding to make his way out of the bedroom.

"Why don't you stay here and sleep? Earlier, you were tossing and turning a lot plus you don't look too good, like you haven't slept in days. Just rest here and when you wake up, you'll be a free man. No one will bother you."

Darien stared at Irene before shrugging his shoulders, trudging over to the bed, and collapsing down on the soft mattress. He was too tired to argue and his head was splitting to the point of severance. The side of his face sunk into the thick pillow as long, dark eyelashes fluttered shut. Usually he would ignore these types of requests, considering them unnecessary options, but for today Darien wanted to sleep with both eyes closed.

"If you're hungry, the fridge is stocked so help yourself."

Irene took one more look at her partially conscious family member and smiled to herself. They weren't remotely close to reaching any kind of reconciliation or even negotiating a potential reconciliation, but this for now was a very good start.

-

Emerald DelGrassi stared at the door separating her from her brother-in-law; her edgy yet ruggedly handsome brother-in-law. She refused to admit it aloud, especially in the lounge where his name frequently came up among the female subordinates, but she constantly caught herself thinking of him. The unfaithful vixen also wondered about all the contours and dips responsible for the structure of his body. Emerald was tempted to rip off his Armani suit and experience this very desolate yet exciting road for herself.

Smirking, she fixed a perfectly waved coif and straightened her own name brand suit before knocking on the door in a manner which she made sure sounded urgent enough to peak the interest of Kagen's second-in-command.

"What is it?" a deep voice called from the office in a tone which implied he was being disturbed.

_Jackpot_. Emerald tucked a stray strand of wheat behind her tiny ear and replied, "I'm very sorry to disturb you, Diamond, but I was hoping I could have a quick word with you."

There was a pause and during that moment of extended silence, Emerald made sure to banish all thoughts of relative desire and focus on her initial priority. She was here on a mission.

"Fine, enter."

With her hand already previously placed on the doorknob, she twisted the blindingly shiny piece of metal and opened the barrier. Diamond was a little less obsessive compulsive about organization than her husband was, but he was still anally tidy. Everything from nic nacs on his desk to several plants lined up in his office were neatly arranged in pleasing angles. She wondered how furious he was be if she 'accidentally' bumped into a plant and threw it out of position. A mental image of Diamond DelGrassi in full military uniform 'punishing her' teased Emerald's imagination to the point of a cracked smirk.

"What do you want, Emerald? I'm very busy," Diamond sighed behind his desk while folding his hands and leaning forward.

"Well, I wanted to discuss something about Rubeus. I mean, I don't even know if you know about what I want to tell you but you're the only one I can turn to. I feel like you're the only one who can help me."

He was taken aback for a moment but then grinned knowingly at the succubus before him. Shaking his head, Diamond explained, "Emerald, who you choose to spread for behind Rubeus' back is none of my business."

A crimson blush spread across the smooth, pale flesh of the adulteress' face. She opened her dainty mouth, closed it, and repeated the process about three times over before she regained her composure and fired back, "I don't know what you're talking about, Diamond, but that is way out of line! You may rank higher than I do in this company but I am still your sister-in-law and you will treat me with respect."

"You are my brother's wife. That is all you are to me."

Emerald chuckled and crossed her arms over her well endowed chest, "Still the cold hearted bastard I've known since the moment I met Rubeus. Acting in such a manner will get you nowhere."

"What is it that you wanted, Emerald?" Diamond proclaimed with an icy tone to his voice and an impatient roll of his eyes. He hated this woman more than he could even imagine possible. From her boisterous laugh to the way her ass would suggestively squeeze up against the thick material of her Prada skirts; he wished Rubeus would wise up and divorce this barracuda. Emerald did nothing more than suck the life out of any unsuspecting candidate she could dig her claws into.

"How much do you know about the files Rubeus keeps locked up in his desk drawers?" Emerald asked in refusal to beat around the bush any longer. Diamond's expression and cold words were beginning to make her feel uncomfortable so she had to get right to the point before temptation to retreat became too overwhelming to ignore.

"What do you mean the files locked up in Rubeus' desk drawers?" he inquisitively retorted. The DelGrassi brother knew exactly what she meant and more but he wanted to hear for himself whether she had discovered the grand prize of information or just a measly runner up. What she answered could change everything in this company.

She remained silent. A part of her refused to continue and that part rejected the brain's signal responsible for opening her mouth. There was something about Diamond, something devious and slightly masochistic. Sure, she pictured him in all his glory occasionally but it was solely based on lust – no trust was necessary to create an image. So she continued to stand there as her brain finally ceased its constant attempt to initiate conversation.

"Emerald, it's OK, you can tell me," Diamond reassured after standing from his chair and beginning to approach his apprehensive sister-in-law, "I know you have your restrictions but if this has something to do with my brother and this company than I have every right to know. We can deal with this together."

Emerald sighed as Diamond's hand rested lightly on her shoulder. The touch was enough to send her system into overload and if she hadn't wisely chosen to avoid eye contact, it probably would have. Breathing in and taking along with the oxygen his scent, Emerald answered, "The file on the Adam and Eve project. I saw Darien Chiba's name on it along with all these other people; people who Darien was contracted to kill. Do you know anything about this?"

A flash of registration passed through Diamond's sky blue eyes but it was so quick Emerald had missed its significance. Removing his hand from her shoulder and moving back to his desk, he simply explained, "Kagen had supported the Adam and Eve project for quite some time during its operation but when we pulled out, it lost its funding and eventually closed. We were given their case files as a result. That's what you saw in Rubeus' desk."

"What is this organization? What does it specialize in?"

"That I don't know," he lied while pouring himself a glass of Brandy and taking a quick sip of its comforting substance, "But nonetheless, we should keep our noses out of it. Rubeus knows what he's doing and if he put a hit out on these people, there's a good reason for it."

She seemed a bit disheartened by such a matter-of-fact reply but her mind immediately rebounded to its original purpose. Clearing her throat and staring at Diamond's back fearlessly, Emerald declared, "What about Darien?"

The youngest DelGrassi sibling finished off his drink, put the signature crystal glass back on his desk, and turned unwavering attention back on his company with an expression so serious it rivaled one belonging to a citizen of a totalitarian government, "Darien Chiba is an animal; he is brutal, sociopathic, and dangerous. We don't need someone of that caliber in our company. It was only a matter of time before Rubeus axed him."

Diamond's lack of compassion was infamous through these hallowed halls but Emerald had never realized one man was capable of being so ruthless. Maybe his inhumanity was the qualification necessary to put him closer to that great gig in the sky; a term Kagen employees at the bottom of the chain used to describe a place where nine figure incomes were standard starting salaries. She could understand her husband's standards. After all, a corporation wasn't built on a foundation of sympathy and good deeds.

"You look surprised. Does my honesty startle you?"

"Not at all, I was just under the impression that you would try and defend one of your own. You may think these things about him but Darien is still a member of this company. How is that setting an example that we won't tolerate treason?"

Diamond chuckled at her naivety. Sitting back on the edge of his desk, he coolly retorted, "When you're dealing with a traitor accordingly I wouldn't exactly call his removal treason. It's only a matter of time before he turns on us. That is his nature whether you believe it or not."

"I don't believe it but I won't stop you from doing your job. You and Rubeus are making a mistake taking out one of your own. Forget I even came here; it was obviously an error in judgment," Emerald spat disgusted with the unexpected outcome of this meeting. Making her way towards the door, the deep, threatening voice of her brother-in-law called out from behind her.

"Don't make the foolish decision to get involved, Emerald, or we may just have to deem you a traitor along with your liaison."

Angry and slightly alarmed by the accusation laced within a potent warning, the untrained detective turned around with wide eyes and exclaimed, "What the hell did you just say to me?"

"Don't get involved," he repeated with a smirk of victory.

In an uncharacteristic tantrum, Emerald swung the door open and slammed it shut as hard as she could in an attempt to get in the last word without the hassle of actually opening her mouth.

Waiting until the sound of stomping high heeled footsteps disappeared, Diamond allowed the cocky grin to wither away into a sneer. He reached back, swiped the phone off its hook, and dialed a familiar number. With a dark requiem for his intolerable sister resonating in his heart, he smiled knowingly at the breathless and annoyed tone snapping on the other end of the phone.

"Sorry to bother you in the middle of your calisthenics, brother, but it looks like we have quite the situation on our hands."

-

Meanwhile, Emerald placed her back firmly against the wall, dangling an expensive pair of pumps on her index finger, and listened in on Diamond's phone call. She smirked knowingly and proceeded to creep down the hall. He had eaten right out of the palm of her hand just as she expected and with Rubeus distracted that file was as good as hers.

-

"It's officer Toshi Nagawara. He was an entrance exam away from making detective."

Michiru looked away from the corpse on the ground to focus on her partner. Large aqua eyes surveyed Hakura's expression and asked, "Do you think it was _him_?"

The tall androgynous blonde said nothing but instead continued to stare at the body of her fellow officer. It would be a little too hasty to point the finger at their fugitive for Nagawara's death but one thing was for certain; the perp would have to either be out of his mind or on the run to kill a cop. There was no solid evidence proving Seiya Kou was the culprit but she could no longer risk any more casualties. Sighing, Hakura raked a slender hand through her hair and glanced back at the fair skinned coroner.

"We may have to inform the media. The eyes of a country are a whole lot more effective than just those of a precinct."

"We might cause unrest by doing so. Shouldn't we continue with the investigation at least until we find sufficient amount of evidence to link officer Nagawara's death to the perp."

Hakura immediately shook her head and crossed her arms, "For all we know Kou could have already fled the city. That may have been easy enough for him to accomplish but I want to make leaving the country a task only divine manifestation could accomplish. We need every Japanese man, woman, and even child alert and ready to assist capture. I want this nipped in the bud before any more blood is shed."

Michiru didn't say anything but Hakura knew she was internally protesting public coverage without any legitimate leads. In a way, she wasn't wrong considering the pandemonium it would cause when people discovered a murderer in their midst. In the end, it might result in a devastating climax but that was a risk she would have to take.

"Trust me on this one, Michiru."

She merely smiled, "You're saying that as if I had a choice."

The detective grinned before turning her attention towards an approaching investigator. Narrowing icy blue eyes on the bag in his hand, she told Michiru to leave the report of any new discoveries on her desk before meeting the informant halfway. Flicking a strand of gold to the side, Hakura asked, "What do you have for me, Tanaka?"

"Just your golden ticket to cracking this whole investigation," Tanaka declared while passing the evidence into the awaiting hands of his superior, "This was Nagawara's weapon; the weapon the suspect used. If you run a scan, I'm more than positive you'll find your man's prints all over it."

She observed the revolver from within the contents of its standard zip lock packaging. If Tanaka was correct than this could prove to be a huge break in an otherwise frigid trail. With hard, proven facts, Seiya Kou would be a sitting duck amongst the millions of downcast eyes following closely over his shoulder. With the weight of a nation on his back, it was possible a pursuit was unnecessary. If Seiya's conscience didn't propel a confession, the incessant scrutiny certainly would.

"Thanks, Tanaka. If you find anything else give me a call. I'm going to head back to the lab and get this bad boy to sing for me."

Tanaka nodded with a grin, "And what a song it'll sing."

"Remember what I said. Keep in touch," Hakura called as she began hiking through the crowds of uniforms and back to her car. Unlocking the door, she plopped down in the leather seat of her coupe and glared down at the murder weapon.

There was no way this type of lead would fall willingly into her hands without the sweat and blood to sign for. How oblivious would a suspect have to be to leave the murder weapon behind? Then again, people do unbelievably stupid things under pressure. He was already in trouble with the law and now he was facing charges of killing a cop. Seiya Kou was a kid riding a multi-million dollar contract of fame and invincibility. What teenager with that kind of privilege wanted to spend the rest of his life withering away in prison?

Sighing, she placed the gun down on the passenger side seat, slipped the key into the ignition, and resurrected her pride and joy's engine from its temporary slumber. There was definitely a catch she couldn't help but remind herself. Now she just had to wait it out and see how big of a gamble fate had made on her expense.

-

Darien awoke to the blinding light of the afternoon sun as his eyes adjusted to the surroundings. Sitting up, he stretched cramped limbs from their momentary entropy and let out an uninhibited yawn. It was strange waking up in a bed which wasn't his. Even as a child, he never slept anywhere further than his own backyard. Sexual conquests were no different. They may have occurred in another woman's bed but he sure as hell never stayed the night.

Throwing his feet over the side and onto the floor, Darien smelled a scent so unfamiliar he quit his simple observation and offered a few courtesy sniffs before evaluating the content.

_Okonomiyaki…N__ikuman…Miso Soup_

A small grumble erupted from his stomach while salivation overwhelmed his taste buds. Darien barely got excited to the point of excess saliva but the thought of a hot, home cooked meal waiting from him downstairs made him as close to giddy as he could get. With a sly grin on his face, the killer practically rushed out of the bedroom and started wondering if his pockets were capable of fitting some buns in without being too conspicuous.

The hall he ventured through was narrow but unnaturally neat with pictures adorning the walls like a family album. Stopping momentarily, he gazed at a photograph of the Tsukino family. They looked like the typical shiny happy people you would see on some wholesome sitcom. The kind you had to second glance just to validate that their existence had substance.

"Aunt Irene, you sure have it made and all you had to do was sell out your nephews for it."

Darien moved on. It wasn't worth paying much mind to. The Tsukinos flashing their deliriously happy home life was as unnatural and annoying as a winter tan. These facets were better left unquestioned.

Approaching the stairs, the smell of his unprocessed meal attacked his senses even more enticingly. Animosity dispelled as this lunch encouraged aimless feet to increase its pace. Darien's mouth continued to water for the delicacy but his movements suddenly stopped as the soft sound of a piano seduced his ears and overpowered his sense of smell. It was so powerful that it completely dominated anything else his other senses could appreciate.

The piece was familiar. He knew he had heard it before but he couldn't remember where.

_You remember. He played it for HER._

Scowling, the memory of this particular sound came rushing back to him. It was Bach. Bach was always a prevalent composer in his home whether it was blaring out through the speakers of the Chiba family's home entertainment center or the f-holes of his father's violin. It was beautiful but only in a tragic sense.

Gravitating towards the source, Darien wandered through the den and into the kitchen. His desired three course meal was sitting right on the table begging to be devoured but instead he walked right past the temptation and towards a door leading into what looked like the cellar. The music got louder which caused his mind to wander further away along with any hesitations preventing him from entering unfamiliar territory.

Darien quietly crept down the steps like the skilled commando that he was trained to be and sat watching the young girl play her piano. The way it appeared, he didn't even have to be subtle. He could have gone pounding down the steps and she would probably still be tapping away on her instrument. The way she remained so focused at this very moment was far cry from the loud mouthed, immature girl he first ran into two nights ago.

Placing a hand under his chin, he noticed how adult she looked. Long, soft strands of silvery blonde hair were pinned up into a messy bun worthy of belonging on the head of a musician as thin rimmed glasses were sliding slowly down the bridge of her nose where they rested at the small slightly upturned tip. Her clothes were baggy and practically screamed oppressed college student as her lips were tinted an attractive rose color. With the only sustainable image of the pianist being in her school uniform, Darien thought it was impossible for this girl to look anything more than a scrawny little rugrat.

As he noticed her elegantly lift her hands from the keyboard, grab a pencil, and scribble small notes on the sheet music, Darien began clapping his hands. He grinned at the tiny tremble of her back and slight slip of her pencil.

Spinning around, Serena glared at her intruder and proclaimed, "You ever hear of knocking?"

"Why knock when the door was wide open?" Darien countered before standing up and moving to the disheveled couch sitting perpendicular to the piano.

"For a little thing called I like to call common courtesy. You know, having the _courtesy _to knock and let yourself be known so you don't scare the hell out of an unsuspecting person."

"Well, take this as a lesson learned. You can never be too comfortable."

The musician scowled bitterly at the smug retort of her guest while thinking sardonically, "_He doesn't even say thank you for hauling his ass for miles back to my house. He better have short time memory loss or I'm going to beat some gratitude into him._"

"How long have you been playing for?" Darien asked while brushing off an otherwise discomforting glare. He was used to these types of expressions from women and figured the best way to deal with it was to be as nonchalant as possible. This was especially efficient when he never expected to see them again.

"Probably about as long as it would take you to learn some manners, jackass," she muttered in a tone of disdain.

"What?"

"I said probably about thirteen years now."

"Thirteen years," Darien breathed, aware of the smart aleck response she had originally given but choosing to ignore it, as he leaned his head back on the cushion, "that's a long time to be dedicated to something."

Serena sighed and removed her glasses, "Thirteen years is nothing if you're truly passionate about something."

"How can you base more than half of your life on something hormonal?"

"Passion isn't just hormonal," she explained in slight irritation that her goals were being questioned by a grown man who lacked the comprehension of a simple thank you, "it's drive. It's something that leaves you craving more and ultimately it's something that will get you where you want to go."

Darien scoffed. His expression hardened considerably as he narrowed his eyes on the optimist and declared, "That's a naïve theory."

Serena's temper began to slowly ascend as she balled up her fists and released, repeating the process until she was sure her voice would not betray her and ultimately give him the upper hand, "It's not naïve, it's what keeps a lot of people going. Without passion, goals, or drive a person's existence would be cold and meaningless. If you're still this young and have such a pessimistic and jaded outlook on life, I feel really sorry for you."

He continued to stare her down in manner which summoned far more aggression than necessary. Thoughts which seemed almost vague and dream inspired corrupted his head. It wasn't until Darien resurrected the photograph of her family which hung upstairs that he began to feel himself dissolve into a darker place. Leaning forward with a glint in stormy blue orbs, he exclaimed, "I don't expect someone who lived as cushy a life as you to understand what life really is. The moment you hit a critical point in your life and can still say passion, goals, and drive is what keeps people going than I'll sit here and listen to your self indulgent, gum drop and gummybear bullshit!"

"Don't sit there and reiterate the story of my life," Serena yelled, the milky pale tone of her face growing redder by the second, "I admit, at the moment, my life is as close to perfect as it gets but that doesn't mean I didn't go through my rough patches! Contrary to your belief, I have felt pain but the difference is I chose not to revel in and get warped by it. I still have dreams. I still have things to accomplish in life and I'll be damned if I let you, some ungrateful horse's ass, convince me otherwise!"

"Silver spoons and a baby grand piano in your very own studio; I should just keep my damn mouth shut because obviously I could never in a million years feel that type of sordid pain!"

"What the hell do you know? Just because you're bitter and angry at the world doesn't give you the right to bring everyone else down with you! I love my life and I love the people in it. I have strength and believe in these things because of those people. You sitting there ridiculing my beliefs is like you sitting there and ridiculing the people I love so if you can't respect my world than get the hell out of my house!"

The shadow cloaking Darien's face lifted as eyes lost their furious glaze and his expression softened. Fire burned from every pore of Serena's body as her eyes pierced into him with unfathomable intensity. He had never seen this much energy exerted out of a woman before much less exerted unselfishly. She wasn't easily dominated and in a strange way it made him want her. Before, women would succumb to him. They would roll over and compromise themselves. It was flattering at first but shortly, it got to be annoying. On the contrary, this challenge was a very attractive change of pace.

Tilting his head back against the cushion, he stared up at the tiles and sighed.

"Hey."

"What?" Serena barked. The blonde was on edge with drawn claws and equally sharp teeth. She would defend her philosophy even if she was left stripped of her dignity and ego.

"Play me something."

The crimson drained from her face as her claws retracted back into their sheaths. Studying her sparing partner, she noticed in surprise how calm and serene he appeared. The defendant was baffled. Mere seconds ago he looked about ready to rip her throat out. Serena frowned and willed her anger to return but unfortunately, the only anger she could muster up was the anger at not being able to get angry again.

"I'm not a damn jukebox," Serena spat. She smiled at her comment and was satisfied that she had not let him gain the advantage. After all, she had fought so hard for her beliefs and refused to let him pull a reversal. Serena would be the one to emerge victorious in this battle.

"Please."

She opened and closed her mouth in awe at his first display of courtesy. Blinking, she screamed at herself not to fall victim to his tricks because that's all this was, a trick. This guy didn't have a single bone of appreciation in his body. At least, she decided, not a genuine one. Glancing at Darien, who at the moment was looking back at her, she became entranced yet again with the way stray black strands fell seductively over beautiful eyes. Frowning, Serena became more agitated at her weakness.

Without a word of acknowledgement, the pianist turned back towards her instrument. She began randomly flipping through her book of music before stopping at Bach's "Air on G". Forcing her body to relax, she lightly erected her hands on the board, pressed delicate fingers down on the keys, and brought to life the opening notes to her piece.

Meanwhile, Darien continued to watch over the younger girl while permitting the music to intoxicate his senses. Slowly and reluctantly, he began to slip into a rare state of peace.

-

"C'mon man, pick up the phone."

Seiya huddled further into the claustrophobic booth and cradled the receiver close to his mouth. He kept his eyes on flawlessly kept black sneakers in an effort to avoid eye contact with passing civilians. Before the answering machine could pick up for the third time in his attempt, he hung up and retried the call. The rock star turned fugitive's breathing grew heavier as his heart beating more erratically. Pale fingers carefully dialed an all too familiar number.

The ringing echoed into the deepest crevice of his ears like an isolated scream. Sweat beaded at his hairline while an excessive dryness in his throat caused him to lick his lips in hopes of gathering the necessary moisture through perspiration. With weary vision, Seiya finally glanced up at the world outside and was taken aback by how incredibly fast it was moving. He barely had time to observe as precious seconds evaporated into the past. A single sweat drop ran down his face unsympathetically.

"Hi, you reached the Saitos. We can't get to the phone right now but if you leave…"

The idol screamed in frustration and repeatedly slammed the phone against the hook without an ounce of reservation. Kicking at the booth's side panel with primitive fury, he began slamming tightened fists against his plastic shelter. Seiya slid down to the ground once his knuckles lacked the vitality necessary to continue its carnage in tears of desperation. He could only imagine the kind of attention his outburst attracted but at the moment it was of no consequence. Seiya was stuck in a nightmare so nihilistic that 9mm wielding cops demanding his surrender resembled a light of hope rather than its initial

He was stuck. A man who craved freedom so ravenously that he killed for it. But even with his freedom he was still dissatisfied. A part of Seiya wished he had submitted and allowed that cop to arrest him. Maybe it would have been better that way. It would have been better to be trapped like a caged animal inside a legitimate prison than to see his beloved world full of color and opportunities gradually become one itself. True, he was free in the literal sense but his guilt wouldn't allow him to enjoy it.

It was why he needed Yaten. Yaten would be his salvation. Seiya watched as the phone swayed back and forth in recovery from its current user's malice. Now if only his salvation could pick up the damn phone…

He hadn't realized how tired he was until he took a moment to relax. With all the perpetuated hype, Seiya didn't even have the time to acknowledge his own fatigue much less appease it by resting. He felt his body loosen considerably after stretching his legs out as far as he could in these cramped conditions. Resting his forehead on his knees, Seiya barely had time to shut his eyes before the nauseating remorse revived itself.

He had not killed Molly D'aubigne but the idol felt responsible nonetheless. Like a coward, he ran away from his past causing an innocent bystander to suffer the consequence of his flight. Seiya still clearly remembered the look of terror on her face at the sound of Sapphire's gun cocking back. He also remembered the blood, a color which blended perfectly with the auburn of her hair, seeping from the back of her head as dead blue eyes stared past him at the light shining brightly underneath drawn curtains.

Seiya wondered if Molly had a boyfriend and if she did whether or not she wished it had been him that she shared her final sexual encounter with. He began to wonder if she had any regrets about anything.

And what about the cop he had killed mere hours ago?

Seiya had accomplished almost every apprehensible action he could think of. From adultery to theft, he had experienced a close encounter with the misdemeanor kind on more than one occasion. But these sins were nothing more than minor injuries sustained in a car accident. You would be confined with more than enough time on your hands, occasionally revel in the epiphanies brought about by the tedium of solitary, surrender to minor depression, and then eventually recover. Life would go on.

This cop, though, was his first kill making those 'minor injuries' a bit more malignant.

Whereas Seiya wondered selfishly about Molly, he broadened his horizons and considered his victim's family. The man looked old enough to have a young wife and a few rugrats. His attention fluctuated between the desperation in the officer's eyes as he struggled to survive to the widow and kids he may or may not have had. Seiya didn't remember his own father very well but the Chiba patriarch's sudden disappearance was probably his most prominent memory to date. After all, it was the moment his life had slowly began to deteriorate.

He felt tears of remorse merge together with the overabundance of sweat trailing his face. Calloused hands roughly kneaded at his soaked face while forcing himself not to wince at the pain his sensitive pampered skin rebelled against. Seiya apologized silently to Mina as memories of her soothing voice and warm body clouded his brain. The runaway missed her but knew it was futile to dwell in the 'what-could-have-beens.' He would never see her again.

The tense knot in his stomach tightened while last night's noodles trailed up his chest with a lingering sensation that insinuated the worst was yet to come. Seiya leaned his head back against the booth and rubbed at his eyes. He felt sick in a sense that gravity had dispersed and his body was weightlessly spinning in circles.

"_Hello…Hello…Who's there?"_

Yaten!

Seiya propelled himself forward so anxiously that he dropped the phone twice before successfully placing the receiver back to his mouth and exclaiming, "Yaten, thank god, it's Seiya! Look man, I really need your help."

Gravity had returned.

-

"You're going to have to tell me eventually."

Rubeus took a sip of his brandy and narrowed his eyes on his younger brother, "What's there to tell. You pretty much know the whole deal."

Diamond kept his eyes locked intently on his informant without any indication of wavering. Crossing his arms, he declared, "I want to know the whole story. How did the project begin? Why involve Kagen? Why was Chiba involved? I want to know it all, Rubeus, and if you don't tell me do not expect me to pick up the slack the next time some bright eyed bushy tailed reporter comes in to investigate buried skeletons."

"You're a real pain in the ass, little brother."

"_Oh, Rubeus DelGrassi, yes he's up in his office right at this very moment. What? His secretary told you he was at lunch? Well, I'm more than sure she was lying for him. I mean, any woman sneaking around with her boss behind the corporation, and not to mention __**Mrs**__. DelGrassi's, back is more than likely to tell little white lies for the sake of salvaging her two o'clock orgasm_," the light haired deviant rehearsed with a snarky smirk of victory, "You've got too much dirty laundry not to tell me, big brother."

"When the hell did you become so underhanded?" Rubeus asked surprised at the dirty politics his own blood was willing to use against him. Sighing, the lecherous elder leaned forward and deposited the empty glass back on Diamond's desk, "So, what's the first question, asshole?"

Wiping the smirk from his face and exchanging his smug expression with a slightly more engaging one, Diamond replied, "I want to know what _The Adam and Eve _project is first off. I want to know what the goal of the whole organization was and why Kagen chose to get involved."

"The whole purpose of _Adam and Eve_ was to restructure a random subject's DNA. If the experiment triumphed, a parent could bring a child into the laboratory and completely change their genetic makeup. Take for instance if they wanted their kid to be a genius, we can boost the child's intelligence. If the parent wanted their kid to be an athlete, we can boost the child's stamina," Rubeus explained while leaning back against the comfort of the leather chair and removing a cigarillo from his lapel, "The experiment wasn't just for parents wanting to make up for what their child lacked but it was also to strengthen Japan's military. Can you imagine genetically modified soldiers with progressive intelligence, strength, and stamina? Our country would dominate any other tactical force. We would be unstoppable."

"So you're saying the whole purpose of the analysis was to make a team of supermen," Diamond answered in disbelief while running a hand through a perfectly tamed coif.

"Not necessarily. At least, that wasn't the original goal. We decided to start simple by paying off financially strapped parents and trying to manipulate less dominant traits in their children. As time progressed, the technicians found minor changes in intelligence and strength; two major attributes we initially thought would cause significant difficulty. But nonetheless, _Adam and Eve_ was proving to be a success."

Rubeus took a breath and chose this moment of silence to survey his brother's reaction. Diamond was a skeptic at heart. He knew that the reason he chose to participate in this cover-up in the first place was because Rubeus was blood. Without family ties, Kagen's head would have been nothing more than a media causality. Rubeus wondered if at the end of this explanation, he would still have his second in command's support.

"I can understand the urge to master genetic manipulation and use it to one's advantage but why involve Kagen in this?"

"At first, I didn't want anything to do with this experiment. By the time I had been approached with a request to sponsor, Parsons had already been placed under intense controversy and scrutiny by the media causing the organization to lose its funding and eventually close. I didn't know much more than what was written in the papers but I didn't want Kagen's name destroyed by association so I declined."

Diamond nodded as he poured his guest another drink before pouring one himself. Closing the crystal encasing, he sat back down at his desk and waited for Rubeus to continue.

"Around the same time, I had met a woman. She was a feisty, sexy thing who I had just started to see. Strangely enough, one night after we had gotten done fooling around, she had brought up that she read in the papers about experiments being conducted on children to alter their DNA. She had said the media had been foolish to negatively spotlight such a promising conquest. She was actually the one who insisted how this type of experiment could strengthen Japan. How this country could become the new wave of the future. It actually got me thinking of all the possibilities Kagen could have with such a fresh technique. It inspired me and before I knew it, I was hunting these people down for a piece of the profit."

Diamond rolled his eyes, "It's just like you to listen to anyone offering to be violated."

"Shut up. What she said made sense. With that type of option in Kagen's hands, this company would skyrocket. We would make history."

"But instead, the experiment failed miserably. You wasted millions of dollars in company profit and are now covering your mess up by killing innocents. Way to go."

"Are you done?" Rubeus barked angrily at the cynical words. He wasn't too shocked at the reaction considering the decision to get involved wasn't one of his wisest choices. Not only did he have the press constantly trying to hassle him but he also had blood on his hands.

_Don't count your chickens before they hatch_.

Rubeus had always hated that saying especially since it seemed to have been his father's favorite way to reprimand. His old man must be laughing his bloody head off wherever he was at.

"How did you get Darien Chiba involved in all of this?"

"I wanted to expand Kagen. I wanted a branch dedicated to cleaning up any seedy personalities associated with this company and I wanted these people undergo this special treatment. I wanted a test subject and since I had no one in particular in mind, Chiba was nothing more than random selection."

That was a lie. Darien Chiba had been hand picked on the street and Rubeus had indeed been encouraged by his mistress. She had specifically pointed this promising recruit out in a battle between rival gangs. But it was something Diamond could without a shadow of a doubt live without knowing. Diamond wouldn't focus on the potential this kid had, but instead he would single out the fact that he let some faceless woman he was sleeping with coerce him into bringing some punk into Kagen. Rubeus didn't want to give the demon any more ammunition.

"So all the people Darien had been ordered to kill were former Kagen products?"

"No. These people were previous subjects who survived the experiment. Together, Parsons and I had initially made the unanimous decision to abort the experiment when we discovered various negative and irreversible side effects associated with the manipulation. We also decided it was best, as a precaution, to wipe out this species. We couldn't risk these genes passing onto their offspring and causing an epidemic. It was best to nip this in the bud before it became something we couldn't contain."

The saliva escaped through the cavern of Diamond's throat as his mouth fought to secrete more in order to disband the dry cotton sensation taking effect. He didn't like to dwell on it, but Andrew Crown had indeed impregnated his goddess. What would Serena think when she discovered her son among the deceased. Smirking savagely, his mind worked marvels with the obvious facts. The only reason why that child's life would be cut short is all thanks to Crown. If she didn't already know about his past as a guinea pig, she soon would and hate him for dragging their son into his mess. Not only would that piece of trash become nothing more than a grease stain but Diamond no longer had to tolerate the bastard child spawn from his angel's affair with another man. Serena would be his in mind, body, and soul.

"You're right. It would be complete pandemonium if enhanced abilities were passed onto the future generations. God only knows how they may develop within the children. For all we know, you might create freaks of nature," Diamond offered with a sneer of disgust on his face. He had his ulterior motives but he also had a slight discomfort knowing there were still people walking the Earth who possessed far superior traits then an average human being. Serena's child may prove to be an even greater threat than Crown and Chiba combined.

Rubeus took another swig of his drink before calling quits on his alcohol consumption. Stretching his arms, he wrapped them behind his head and relaxed against them, "I'm not too worried about Crown. Considering he was treated as a normal procedure, I have more than enough faith that he'll be easy enough to take down. Chiba on the other hand is a completely different story. He was treated as a military inductee and endured a complete transformation both genetically and naturally through extensive training. His intelligence, stamina, and strength are far above average making him a perfect model soldier of the future."

"That was what you were aiming for wasn't it?"

"Yes, but you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. By changing his makeup, we inflicted him with some brain damage. If I remember correctly, he sustained minor damage to the limbic system. The strange part about this whole situation was how he still remembered certain occurrences in his past; occurrences that with any type of damage to the hippocampus should have left him an amnesiac. They started talking dissociative personality disorder."

"Disccociative personality disorder…"

"I'm not getting too detailed. The guy's a live wire that's all I have to say. It's hard enough to put him down alone but if he's hip to our strategy, we're done for it. He's a monster and with the wrong information in his hands, he'll tear us all apart."

Diamond leaned back in his chair and considered the obvious danger. Folding his hands, he quirked an eyebrow and simply stated, "You do realize Emerald has important information that would be hazardous if given to the wrong person."

"Yeah, I'm aware," Rubeus countered a little more forcefully than originally intended, "We just need to keep her under constant surveillance. If she contacts Darien our plans are fucked. Not only will he thwart the operation to rub out Crown in spite, but he'll also destroy any chance we have at getting the guy's kid. I just have to tell Takashi not to waste any more time."

"Takashi?"

"Yes. We were already prepared to take on Darien. To keep him distracted, I even fed him some bullshit story that Andrew Crown aka Alex Yuri was waging war against my organization for political purposes. If Darien's in the dark, Takashi can make his move. I'm hoping for a synchrony of some sort. As Chiba takes his shot," the red head proclaimed with a hand gesture that poised into a ready to fire gun, "he won't even be able to enjoy the sweetness of his victory because Takashi's bullet will already he lodged into the back of his head. After that, all that's left is to snuff the little bastard child and its game over."

Diamond smirked at his brother's opportunist attitude and balanced his head on an open palm, "And what if your plan does go awry? What happens if this information reaches Darien and he's hip to our little plan?"

"Then it's an all out war."

The room was deathly silent after that reply as both men pictured a failed strategy and the horrifying bloodshed which would result.

-

"What's your poison?"

Jadeite eyed up the yakuza dive's newest bartender with uninhibited frustration. He wondered where Jiro was tonight and why he was being replaced by this nitwit. Jadeite never had to tell Jiro what he wanted, the man just knew. It made things easier that way especially tonight where the last thing the PI wanted to do was chat.

"Whiskey."

He took a seat at the bar and glanced around at the scene. Jadeite was meeting a big shot yakuza lieutenant tonight. He never got his name but word around the sewing circle was this guy was manic. If anyone could accomplish a seedy underground job, it was definitely him.

Watching the newbie put his drink in consumption distance, Jadeite grabbed the alcoholic substance and knocked it back in one pleasurable shot. After slamming down the glass and savoring the burning sensation in his chest, he pointed to the empty vessel in a gesture which suggested that the bartender was going to be very busy tonight.

Just as he had watched it being given, the Frenchman also watched it being taken away and refilled. He looked down at his watch.

_Ten minutes late._

"I don't think I'm tardy enough to have you look down at your watch with that type of expression."

"Maybe so, but you're still late nonetheless."

His guest sat down on the stool next to him and told the server to make that whiskey two. Turning his eyes from the alcohol to his caller, the man replied, "Last time I checked, I was doing you the favor, friend."

Jadeite glared at him coldly. He was obviously younger than him with various black bangs poking out from under a brandless baseball cap. He was more muscular in build than the blonde investigator but also slightly taller. As he observed him, the one thing Jadeite noticed was how powerful the man's eyes were. They screamed aristocracy with the lack of empathy wealth was usually responsible for and shaded different hues of blue. The yakuza's eyes were a testament to the spectrum of that color.

"Here's your drink," the fresh faced bartender announced before leaving the two to take other orders.

"What's this about?"

Jadeite put the file with all his gathered information on the bar before picking up his whiskey and this time drinking it leisurely. He followed his help's hand across the surface and swept the contents up without reservation. Taking another sip, Jadeite patiently waited as he skimmed through the fine print and glimpsed at the photography.

"Who are we looking for?"

"His name is Seiya Kou. I am sure you heard of him one way or another considering this kid is an idol," Jadeite began while folding his hands and keeping focus on the interrogator, "He was last seen checking into a high class motel with a young girl. I'm not going to bore you with a lecture. All the specifics are in that folder I just gave you. Considering we are both busy people, I'll get directly to the point. I want this fuck dead."

Looking over the material, he caught a glimpse of a photo which peaked his interest. He shifted his eyes from his homework to the blonde, "Oh, now it makes sense why this kid is on your shit list? Who's the girl?"

"She was my cousin."

Jadeite downed the last remaining warm golden fluid in his cup and banged the small, ornate beaker down a little harder than he determined.

"Well, why call me? You can get any piece of shit off the street to snuff this guy for the right price."

"He has a brother."

He smirked and rested his chin on the palm of his hand, "Ah. And this brother just so happens to be superman?"

"He's as close to the man of steel as a human being can get. There is information on him provided as well."

Flipping through the contents, the mobster stopped at a picture of a young man who looked almost identical to the boy he was being asked to hunt. Separating the file from its bulk, he loudly read, "Darien Chiba, Kagen Inc. 25 years old."

"He may look like a harmless little pretty boy but he's highly skilled. I suggest taking him seriously," Jadeite warned. His eyes remained glued to his potential accomplice in hopes of reading any expression which would reveal this man's true worth. He was beginning to have doubts. This guy was unchiseled stone. There was no emotion or even indication of confidence. Jadeite began to wonder if he was capable of carrying out this assignment.

"You know my father, is that correct?"

The fair skinned foreigner was taken aback by the sudden change of discussion. In a way, Jadeite was a little put off by how unprofessional he was being by asking such a random question. Showing his discontent, he answered, "Yes. I am sure many people know your father. From what I hear, he is a very prominent boss."

He grinned, "One of my men seemed rather adamant that I meet you when I got notice of you nosing around this bar. I wondered why at first but then I remembered that my father mentioned you once before. He said that you were a godsend to the organization. He also told me that I should respect you and your wishes. It's the only reason why I decided to show up in the first place."

"Is that you're long winded way of telling me you will take my offer?"

The grin intensified into a chuckle after finally choosing to drink the ignored beverage beside him. Putting his empty glass back on the bar, he gathered up the folder, stood from his seat, and declared, "Yes. I guess that's my long winded way of telling you I'll take your offer."

Before his newly appointed comrade prepared to walk away, Jadeite asked, "I didn't get your name."

Turning around with a smile, he responded, "Where're my manners? The name's Sapphire and I'm sure it'll be a pleasure working with such an honorary man."

-

"That was one hell of a meal."

Darien yawned loudly as he rubbed at his stomach in satisfaction of the contents within. He had eaten over an hour ago but it had tasted so good that his stomach seemed to be fighting against digestion in order to keep the food there as long as possible. Who knew the next time he would be able to eat like that?

'That little pest sure can cook,' he mused. Everything from the steamed buns to the miso soup had been delicious. His only complaint was that she didn't make enough.

Pulling a key out of his jeans pocket, he froze in mid stride as the small grin evaporated from his face instantly. The short lived pleasure was gone and now in result, all that was left was bitter rage.

"Why am I looking at you? Didn't I tell you I had better never catch you around here again?"

Emerald DelGrassi arose from her uncomfortable seat on the hard carpeted floor, rubbed at her sore rear end, and retorted sarcastically, "It's so wonderful to see you too, Darien."

He had enough on his mind tonight.

Marching forward, Darien grabbed the smug vixen by the wrist and began roughly dragging her towards the elevator. Ignoring her pleas, he hissed, "You never listen, do you, Emerald? Let me tell you this again so it can sink in through the hairspray and into your thick skull. I don't want you here. Unfortunately, I have to see your face at work but when I'm not at Kagen, I'm not obligated to undergo that type of torture. So get the hell out of here!"

"I don't think you want to do that," Emerald shouted. She jerked her hand away from her ex-lover's grip, reached inside a stylish designer jacket, and pulled out a file, "I have something I'm more than positive you want to see."


End file.
